GPS could play role in driver safety

Is a car accident in your future? Ask the global positioning satellites.

Ford Motor Co. and Auburn University are working on a project to use GPS satellites combined with a car's stability system to prevent accidents.

Tests by Auburn have shown that satellites can monitor a car close enough to know when a crash could occur, and to use a car's safety systems before it's too late.

The research team from Auburn will present the findings at the ominous-sounding Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics in San Antonio, Texas, later this month.

The satellites track the speed and direction of a car, the road ahead and current conditions to calculate whether an accident is probable. If so, the satellites can communicate with the car's stability-control system to help avoid it.

The project is part of Ford's $4 million investment in university research, including 16 safety programs. Breakthroughs from the project include the development of an algorithm that combines the info to make predictions on a vehicle's roll angle, sideslip and velocities under various driving conditions.

We're not huge fans of electronic nannies here, but predicting and preventing accidents before they occur, that's something we can all get behind.

By Jake Lingeman