What Is V2V Technology and How Does It Make Driving Safer

When you are learning how to drive, most teachers will tell you that you have to drive for yourself and all the cars around you. Understanding that you are only as safe as the cars around you is a sobering thought. Couple that with the fact that there are more distracted drivers on the road due to mobile devices, getting in the car can feel daunting. Thankfully, technologists and automakers are finding ways to make driving safer with V2V technology.

What Is V2V Technology?

Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology allows cars to wirelessly exchange information. V2V-enabled vehicles can report factors such as speed and the positioning of nearby vehicles. V2V technology is the foundation of current autonomous vehicles and cars with predictive braking systems.

How Does V2V Work?

V2V technology works by sending and receiving data to the vehicle’s computer systems. The sensors in the car send and receive data up to 10 times per second. All that data creates a complete 360-degree field that informs you about what is around your vehicle. The data inform your car of suggested speed limits, other vehicle proximity, and potential crash hazardous. Advances in current V2V technology even allow sensors to read objects over 300 meters away.

How Can V2V Make Driving Safer?

Some agencies believe that V2V technology could prevent between 439,00 and 615,000 car crashes. To make V2V technology widespread, there is a push to add technology to all lightweight vehicles. The more vehicles on the road equipped with V2V technology, the more drivers there will be with a second set of eyes on the road. Allowing our vehicles to play a more active role in the driving process can help decrease collisions that result from distracted, sleepy, and maybe even intoxicated drivers. Imagine a commute where every vehicle could break before an accident takes place—this could lead to a decrease in multiple-car collisions on highways, for example.

As consumers better understand what V2V technology is, drivers can look forward to possibly experiencing safer highways and streets in the near future. On top of V2V, many networking companies are starting to work closely with government and car manufacturing agencies to implement vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I). These companies specialize in popular industrial wireless products that cities can use to create a network that shares information with road signage, traffic lights, and other systems. Their goal is to, at some point, have vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology. This network will decrease collisions more than ever before.