The US Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing a rule that would force carmakers to embrace vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology.
It is designed to foster V2V communication that would help prevent crashes by allowing new cars to “talk” to each other.
The DOT proposal would require V2V technology on all new light-duty vehicles, while paving the way for standardisation across the industry.
Full implementation of the proposal would be years away and would only include new vehicles, not existing vehicles.
V2V technology centres around short-range wireless communication, allowing vehicles to share their location, speed and direction with nearby vehicles. In theory, the information can help identify potential conflicts even if drivers cannot visually see another vehicle that poses a collision risk.
Mark Rosekind of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says there’s some potential benefit for the aftermarket.
“The requirement focuses on new vehicles, but we believe there will be a pretty strong aftermarket interest in doing this, even without the requirement, just because of the safety benefits,” says the NHTSA’s administrator.
However, it may be a while before these opportunities are realised by car dealers.
Cars.com editor-in-chief Patrick Olsen told Auto Remarketing that it is more likely to gain interest in the long-term.
“Don’t expect much of short-term lift. The value of V2V technology will have to be proven to consumers before they jump in. Typically, consumers haven’t rushed to such technology unless it has been mandated by government,” Olsen says.
Currently it is a wait-and-see situation as to how V2V might provide additional revenue for dealers.
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