Ford Smart Intersection Could Help Increase Safety

Ford has privately funded a one-of-a-kind smart intersection that could dramatically help increase safety by cutting down collisions.

At the Washington Auto Show, Mike Shulman, technical leader, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering, said the smart intersection, which uses GPS and other currently available technologies, helps increase safety by warning drivers of potentially dangerous traffic situations, such as when a vehicle is about to run through a red light. Once the in-vehicle computer receives data indicating a potential hazard, it can instantly warn drivers through visual and audio alerts.

The Ford smart initiative has a particular emphasis on urban intersections to help increase safety. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data for 1997-2004, 84 percent of traffic accident deaths in signalized intersections and 37 percent of auto collision deaths in stop sign junctions happened in urban settings.

The smart intersection project will accelerate Fordís research into proprietary active safety technologies as it continues development of a common architecture and standards for smart intersections together with General Motors Corp., Honda Motor Co., Daimler AG, Toyota Motor Corp., the federal government, and local and county road commissions. The joint public-private effort is known as Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP).