Traffic is generally accepted as a necessity of modern life, but it doesn’t have to be. We don’t have traffic because there are too many cars, we have traffic because people are bad drivers and don’t have enough information to make smart decisions. If even just a fraction of vehicles could communicate and override poor driving decisions, we could virtually eliminate traffic. So regardless of whether you believe that autonomous vehicles and road trains are in our future, cars that talk to each other are coming sooner than you think–and they might just get rid of some of the most pesky (and dangerous) traffic-related problems.

The DOT recently announced the six winners in its Connected Vehicle Technology Challenge, which asked entrants to come up with ways that Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) technology–a secure, Wi-Fi-like open source communications platform that allows cars to communicate even while driving at high speeds–could be used to “develop new applications, devices, products, services and business solutions.” Here is some of what we might look forward to in our connected vehicle future, courtesy of the competition winners.

Clemson’s Integrated Intelligent Transportation Platform proposes using DSRC to create a “true connected vehicle ecosystem” that leverages the technology to do everything from reporting vehicle crashes on the road ahead to notifying EV drivers that they’re about to enter a traffic jam, and their charge won’t last through it unless they turn off certain systems in the car–for example, the onboard TV in the backseat.

The Connected Vehicle Proactive Driving entry, submitted by Sakura Associates, aims to use DSRC to make the roads safer for drivers–and in turn, reduce the amount of traffic jams caused by accidents. The system would gather information on the type and location of accidents in different areas to give drivers guidance based on a so-called Accident Probability Index, which could advise drivers to avoid (or take extra care on) routes with high accident rates, “dangerous road geometry,” and adverse weather conditions.