LAST DECEMBER, the

“28 — Friday, August 28, 1992 - Norih Shore News

AUTOMOTIVE
IVHS is the auto world of the future

Soon automobiles will be more intelligent than their drivers

U.S. federal

Intelligent Vehicle Highway System, or IVHS.

IVHS will use a combination of
a centralized traffic management
system, roadside sensors and
two-way satellite communication
with vehicles to direct drivers to
less congested routes. The broad
goals of IVHS are to help reduce
traffic congestion, improve traffic
safety and save fuel.

Until now, North America has
been lagging behind Europe and
Japan in the development of
automated highway and vehicle
systems, primarily due to a lack of
government funding. Now that
there is some support behind this
project, we can expect to see ac-
celerated progress in the develop-
ment of ‘‘smart’’ cars and

“smart”? highways.

‘IVHS has been directed to de-

- velop a fully automated roadway

‘or test track and vehicle systern by

1990.

. The expense of setting up such
‘a system precludes smaller coun-
tries like Canada from developing
their own intelligent vehi-
cle/highway systems. However,
free trade between Canada and
the United States’ will likely offer
many business opportunities in
this billion-dollar enterprise over
the next 20 years.

An important component cf
IVHS will be the deveiopment of
automobiles that will brake, ac-
ceierate and steer automatically.
“Smart cars’? will eventually drive
themselves, using a variety of new
technologies, many of which have

already been developed.

.- Collision-avoidance sensors in
the front bumper will automatical-

<ly apply the brakes-should the car

Greg
Wilson

AUTOMOTION

be in danger of crashing into the
vehicle in front. Distance-measur-
ing sensors will interact with
roadside sensors to prevent the car
from crossing the centre line or
curb.

’ Eventually, steering contro! will
be completely automated on ma-
jor highways. Laser-guided vehi-
cle convoys will travel at highway
speeds just centimetres apart.

In the ultimate automated
system, the driver will simply
enter a destination into an on-
board computer, and the car wili
drive itself to its destination.

The advantages to society are
numercus. Despite the enormous
cost in research, development and

implementation (estimated to be -

$230 billion over the next 20
years), ,the IVHS system will
probably pay for itself in reduced

Hatchback, the
safe, high performance

alternative $668
/mo.*

government
authorized funding of $659 million over six years for an

health care costs and property
damage costs as a result of fewer
collisions.

The amount of fuel saved as a
result of fewer traffic stops and
delays is estimated to be more
than 10%. Exhaust emmission will
also be significantly reduced, and
so will travel time.

But behind this rosy picture is
the prospect that we wil! no longer
control the cars that we drive,
thereby removing one of mod-
ern-day’s great pleasures. The
joys of driving and the freedom to
go where one chooses at any time
will certainly be curtailed.

Those who enjoy driving will be
relegated to the backroads, which
will probably remain non-
automatic because of prohibitive
costs.

Proposed electronic identifica-
tien devices will erode our
freedom further. These devices,
already developed, attach to the
licence plate or underbelly of the
car and can be used to identify a
car automatically when it gocs

through a toll booth, traffic light, -

or parking lot. In addition to tak-
ing away direct control of the car,
our governments and corporations
will be capable of knowing where
we go, when we go and where
we're headed.

Consumers already bear the in-
creasing costs of gasoline taxes,
recycling requirements, safety
standards, traffic fines and
penalties, insurance costs, and up-
coming emissions testing. The bill
for intelligent highways and smart
cars will also be borne by the tax-
payer.

The noble goals of IVHS tend
to overshadow less tangible disad-
vantages, such as the loss of
privacy and driving enjoyment.

1 only demo!

As IVHS evolves, it behooves
motorists to weigh the financial
and personal costs against the
benefits to society as a whole. Is
guaranteed traffic safety worth the
price of reduced driving freedom
and enjoyment? Will personal
liberties be lost with the introduc-
tion of vehicular indentification
devices and automatic tracking
technology? Will access to in-
telligent highways be rationed
electronically, and perhaps denied
electronically?

A world of safe, non-polluting,
electronically controlled com-
muters may sound like a wonder-
ful world to some, but to me it
sounds terribly dull.

Diabetes is a serious disease.
Left untreated, very serious.
For more information about
diabetes, contact the Canadian
Diabetes Association.

So much can be done.

Diabetes
[eee ee |

caer |ceuemoen

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