
DOT proposes vehicle-to-vehicle comms requirement for new cars in the U.S - coldcode
https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/13/dot-proposes-vehicle-to-vehicle-comms-requirement-for-new-cars-in-the-u-s/
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justinlaster
I used to work within the field of DOT technology (not for the DOT itself). I
forget the exact project name, but this has been in the works since around
2008 and has gone through several revisions (in a relatively closed, "secret"
committee sort of process).

Their main goal is to have infrastructure actually coordinate traffic (alluded
to the Vehicle-to-Infrastructure proposal). This will allow the DOT to fine
tune traffic controls to reduce general commute times while providing nifty
features such as allowing emergency vehicles to pass seamlessly through
intersections, as well as make evacuation orders go smoothly (directing
certain groups of traffic to alternate routes, etc). Of course who could
forget the draconian hypothetical of allowing the government to stop your car
randomly (of which they already can through more violent means). The vehicle
to vehicle communication proposal is just a step towards the vehicle to
infrastructure end goal, as you need cars to be able to pass along messages to
each other in a kind of "mesh" network fashion.

Judging by the looks of things, they haven't really come that far. It still
seems very abstract. Which is kind of disappointing, because from a tech
perspective I'd like to see how things end up working out. It's been
"forthcoming" for _years_. Of course the auto-industry wants nothing to do
with it and last I heard they were doing everything they can to stop this from
moving forward.

