U.S. government urges auto industry to step up efforts on ‘smart car’ technology

The automobile industry is being challenged by the United States government to increase efforts to develop technology that helps drivers to avoid accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than three-quarters of all accidents are due to driver error. The government has set a goal of ten years for the auto industry to install the technology in a minimum of ten percent of all passenger vehicles and 25 percent of commercial vehicles sold in the U.S. Currently, crash-avoidance systems, night-vision enhancements, high-tech cruise control and other types of smart technology are optional additions on some high-end vehicles. Bob Lange, engineering director of the General Motors Corp. Safety Centre, said that it is possible to reach the government’s goal. “That probably is not unreasonable, and it may even be possible to exceed that goal if we as manufacturers are able to make them affordable,” he said. “We think there is consumer demand for them.”