Kristi King, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Technology to help keep drivers safe is getting better, more common, and cheaper too.
Ford for example is working on a vehicle Wi-Fi system that would allow cars talk to each other. It would alert drivers if another car is coming around a blind curve or about to blow through a red light in their direction.
Kiplinger also tells MSN Autos that vehicle innovations such as cruise control that adjusts to the flow of traffic will be common within the decade. By then self-adjusting cruise control will also work at lower speeds.
Cars with night vision can already see what’s beyond the range of their headlights using infrared light or by amplifying available light. But they’ll soon be much more affordable. Systems that now cost as much as $2,600 from BMW and Mercedes should cost half that by 2020 — or even come standard in more expensive vehicles.
Need eyes in the back of your head? By 2014 rear-view cameras will come cheap for fifty bucks or less.
Also by 2020, expect less expensive safety systems that automatically apply a car’s breaks to prevent it from hitting pedestrians or another vehicle.
Right now that technology only works on vehicles moving less than 22 mph.
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