And of course there is no denying that soon such a mode of transportation would one day come.

But for the meantime, we can only wish for the immediate coming of the Hollywood smart cars. And in this country, with the quality of most of our drivers out there in our streets, we have all the reasons for wishing most fervently for such automobiles.

With local drivers dangerously ignorant of traffic rules, and lacking in comprehension of the fundamental street and traffic signs, the public should tremble with fear each time they brave the country’s networks of city streets, national and municipal roads, and even barrio byways normally used for drying newly harvested rice. That is why I think it was timely that one of the country’s top TV networks aired last week a program highlighting the local drivers’ lack of basic knowledge of road signs and related traffic rules.

One of the drivers interviewed for the TV program, in fact, thought that the No Entry sign indicated a two-way street. Oh my.

Collision-Free Car

Somehow, it brings comfort to the heart that some European researchers had developed a collision warning system for cars. Designed to alert drivers several seconds before impact, the Collision Warning System is developed by scientists working with the Reposit project.

CWS-equipped cars, moreover, can determine their locations using GPS, and find the position, speed and trajectory of oncoming traffic using the Vehicle2Vehicle (V2V) car communication protocol. This enables cars to calculate the relative positions of other cars, and determine where they would be in the next few seconds. Once calculations forecast an imminent collision, the system would alert the driver.

This is one technology that should save plenty of lives, especially among traffic rules-allergic drivers.

Cars Keep Eye on the Road

Continental Automotive Systems, a supplier of car-based technologies from Germany, showed off some of its latest technologies and products at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Entitled "Safely There," the exhibit included technologies that would enable cars to talk with each other, warning each other about dangers that might possibly arise somewhere along the road.

The company refers to smart cars as "autono-vehicles," short-hand term for autonomous vehicles, which someday it hopes will safely carry passengers, who will be doing nothing but read their papers and drink coffee along the way.

IT on Wheels

According to an Associated Press report, this year’s edition of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas included various IT technologies designed for automobile applications. For the past few years, IT vendors have been developing and promoting technologies and products that can either be integrated during the manufacturing process or installed after sales.

Of course, the most talked about trends include the installation of computer systems as an integral part of the automobile. For quite some time now, onboard computers have been taking charge of managing automobile power, safety and comfort platforms and systems. Although found mostly in high-end models, built-in computers are a trend currently trickling down to the lower-cost models and brands of automobiles.

Well, apparently, our roads might be having more than their fair share of stupid drivers. But with the coming of smart car technologies, we have reasons to be optimistic regarding the future of traffic safety.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.