In an effort to minimize if not completely eliminate vehicular collisions and the attendant loss of life, the Obama administration wants light trucks and cars in the future to have the technology to enable vehicles to warn each other of a potential danger to avert collisions, according to the New York Post.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a research report which estimated that this technology, which will work for up to 300 yards, has the potential to prevent 592,000 intersection and left-turn crashes annually, which can save the lives of about 1,083 people. The agency announced that it would start drafting the rules for the technology to be a required feature in new cars and trucks.

In this vehicular technology, a radio signal is used to continuously transmit the speed, heading, position and other information of a vehicle. Vehicles that are equipped with the same technology will be able to receive the information, and the computers built into the vehicles will be able to alert drivers if a collision is eminent.

Even if a vehicle is hidden around a corner, the program will enable the car to see if another car is about to run a red light. It can also tell other drivers if a car that is ahead of the line had made a sudden stop, and similarly equipped vehicles can tell drivers to step on their brakes even before the brake lights of the vehicles in front can be applied.

Investing in the technology would extend its use in communities by enabling traffic lights and roadways to also start talking to vehicles, which could send warnings regarding road hazards and traffic congestion ahead so that drivers can find a detour.

This technology that the Obama administration wants is different from the automated safety features that are already built into high-end cars and trucks. Industry officials and the government believe that the two safety technologies are compatible. They are looking into the future where the self-driving cars will be much safer with the inclusion of both technologies. The projection is that the addition of the technology to new vehicles or retrofitting older cars will incur an additional $100 to $200 for each vehicle.