The City of Virginia Beach is interested in allowing car manufacturers to experiment with technology that would let a car communicate with the city's current infrastructure such as traffic lights and traffic cameras.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — In an effort to improve safety and efficiency on the road, the City of Virginia Beach wants to become a “test center” for emerging transportation technologies.

“How can we share information that's going to be important to you as a driver, from a safety aspect?” said Tara Reel, Transportation and Transit Planner for the City of Virginia Beach. “There's also the idea of congestion. How can we mitigate that with technology?”

Reel explained the city is interested in allowing car manufacturers to experiment with technology that would let a car communicate with the city’s current infrastructure such as traffic lights and traffic cameras.

“Basically your car is going to know when the light changes before you do,” said Reel. “So imagine the impacts of that, where you can communicate if there are crashes ahead.”

Reel said the purpose is to minimize crashes and warn drivers about hazards on the roads. Much farther into the future, Reel speculated driver-less cars could be introduced.

“I think privacy is going to be a lot of people’s concern, but I feel like if it’s going to make the driving safer. I think it’s something that should be looked at,” said driver Christopher Tanner.

The city is also interested in creating a regional roadway network that allows vehicle technologies to communicate with one another.

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