The government thinks there’s a high-tech fix to the rise of traffic fatalities, but the answer is much simpler. | Image: Department of Transportation
Ford announced today that it’s exploring “new smartphone-based communications technology” to warn drivers about pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users that may be hidden from their view. This follows a request for information from the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) on the possibility of using similar communication technology as “warning systems for both drivers and [vulnerable road users].”
The underlying message of both of these announcements is that technology can help slow or even reserve the dramatic rise in road deaths in the US. Traffic fatalities hit a 20-year high in early 2022, with officials blaming the pandemic for causing more reckless driving behavior. And technology, that amorphous panacea to so…