Forcing cars to interface put in neutral

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has quietly set aside plans to require new cars to be able to wirelessly talk to each other, auto industry officials said, jeopardizing one of the mostpromising technologies for preventing traffic deaths.

The Obama administration proposed in December that all new cars and light trucks come equipped with technology known as vehicle-to-vehicle communications, or V2V. It would enable vehicles to transmit their location, speed, direction and other information 10 times per second. That lets cars detect, for example, when another vehicle is about to run a red light.

The Transportation Department estimates the technology has the potential to prevent or reduce the severity of up to 80 percent of collisions that don’t involve alcohol or drugs.

But the Trump administration has decided not to pursue a final V2V mandate, said four officials who have spoken to the administration. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

Administration officials indicated their decision was based on several factors, including general wariness of imposing costly mandates on industry, even though most automakers support requiring V2V, industry officials said. President Donald Trump has made reducing government regulations a guiding principle.