By Viknesh Vijayenthiran

Vehicle-to-vehicle communication, V2V for short, is nothing new. In fact, automakers and governments alike have been working on the technology for the past several years.

Most V2V systems work by warning drivers about potential danger from other vehicles. They do this by exchanging information about an individual vehicle, such as location and speed, with other vehicles on the road or point markers fitted with sensors.

Drivers can then be warned in advance if another vehicle is stopped in an area that is difficult or impossible to see, or about to enter the same intersection as they are. The hope is that eventually this technology can be combined with autonomous or ‘self-driving' car technology to eradicate or at least minimize the occurrence of accidents.

Now, finally, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is getting in on the action, establishing the new V2V project, the first major experiment deployed in real environments on a range of makes and models.

The DOT's V2V project relies on Dedicated Short-Range Communications, or DSRC. Cars enrolled in the V2V program will be outfitted with DSRC devices that can communicate with other DSRC-ready vehicles within a 1,000-yard range.

These technologies may potentially address up to 82 percent of crash scenarios with unimpaired drivers, preventing tens of thousands of vehicle crashes every year (further research will incorporate heavy vehicle crashes including buses, motor carriers, and rail).

The project will take place initially in six U.S. cities--Blacksburg, VA; Brooklyn, MI; Dallas, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Orlando, FL; and San Francisco, CA--and will culminate with a report of recommendations submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2013.

For more details on the V2V project, follow the jump below.

[DOT via AllCarTech]

This story originally appeared at Motor Authority