We've seen cars talking back and forth in the movies, but automobile constructors are starting to make that cartoon concept a reality. While the cars on the highway won't be gossiping about the tow-truck ahead of them or praising the best gas station in town, they will be able to warn each other of their spatial location. These talking cars could, in theory, be the end of fender-benders, rear-end collisions, and traffic pile-ups. Models show these automobiles sending each other signals which tell their speed, distance, and direction. This way the cars can give themselves an appropriate bubble of space on the road, and prevent clumsy accidents like those that happen in traffic.

These talking cars would take initiative and sometimes may even override the driver's decision. The Washington Post gives this example: if cars ahead are slowing to a stop on the freeway, then you may feel the brakes to your car squeeze on as the car begins to slow. Maybe you weren't paying attention, and would have had to screech to a stop to avoid tapping a car's front bumper. But your car already knew what was coming, and you'll glide to a stop when you approach the congestion. These cars can also tell when another automobile is going too fast. If you are approaching an intersection and your car senses that an oncoming vehicle isn't going to stop, but instead blaze through a red light, then the car will slow to a stop and keep you from crossing the reckless driver's path.

These cars are almost like guide-dogs, carefully informing their owners of the best decision and determined whether or not to take certain chances or routes. An associate at the Texas Transportation Institute says that this innovative technology has the power to keep cars from colliding. This will lower insurance rates, keep people safe, and keep cars on the road longer. How does this technology work? Well, though sci-fi, the concept is not rocket science. Automobile manufacturers would only need to install short-range transmitters in their cars. These transmitters use a special bandwidth to send information to surrounding vehicles about ten times per second. The transmitters can also receive information from vehicles within a certain range.

With the information from the transmitters, these talking cars would be programmed to take the appropriate defensive actions out on the road. This is perfect for impaired drivers, or elderly men and women who may have lost their keen vision or hearing. The car would have the power to decide whether to leave the driving to the person behind the wheel or to make its own decision. When alerting the driver, these talking cars will either sound the alarm with a beep or use seat vibration.

Texas A&M University is doing a study on this new concept, and says that the technology is solid. Yet they say that the engineers need to make sure that the right data can be transmitted from one vehicle to another vehicle and that the car can ascertain the right actions to respond. Malfunctions could cause serious consequences, such as crashes and stalled cars. If the technology can be perfected, then these chatty cars could reduce highway fatalities and injuries by over 50 percent. This not only preserves lives, but could cut billions of dollars in medical bills across the nation. It could also reduce millions of dollars in repair damages.

The cars would also be able to reroute when a freeway is particularly jammed, or when an off-ramp is closed. This would save the drivers time and effort. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that talking cars could address up to 80 percent of all unimpaired driving accidents. Almost half of all the crashes in 2007 were rear-end collisions, something that these cars could eliminate all together. One of the possible engineers on the project says that the public won't need to wait ten years to get their talking car. Essentially the engineers jut need to install the appropriate communications technology into their vehicles. The NHSTA intends to start up a pilot program with 3,000 talking cars in Michigan, which will determine whether or not the tech is reliable. If all goes according to plan, V2V (Vehicle-to-vehicle communication) should be on the rise by the end of 2013 while the companies work through policy issues.