Vehicles connect at Michigan International Speedway

The Michigan Department of Transportation and Michigan International Speedway have joined forces to help in the development of a connected-vehicle system.

In the future, it will help cars communicate with each other on the road to avoid crashes and increase safety.

The speedway, located in Brooklyn, Mich., will allow organizations such as the Connected Vehicle Proving Center and the Center for Automotive Research to use the track as a test road for the new technology.

Last November, the state department of transportation announced plans to implement vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology in Oakland County in suburban Detroit.

Michigan International Speedway has two 1.9-mile road courses and a 2.0-mile banked oval on 1,400 acres that also could be used for terrain testing.

In the mid-1970s, the track served as the testing grounds for American Motor Corp.

The connected-vehicle tests could start as early as spring. The cost to private companies would be no more than a normal track-rental fee.

By Jake Lingeman