The Highway: Road from Distraction

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THE HIGHWAY

As if looking out for other cars were not difficult enough, the hapless motor ist is driven to distraction by a sea of signs that tell him where to go and what to do. Ford Motor Co. has come up with an experimental device aimed at taking the dis out of the traction.

It is called the Radio Road Alert System, and it warns the driver of conditions ahead. Transmitters of limited range (about 200 to 500 ft.) would be planted at fixed spots along the road. Car radios would be outfitted with loops of pre-recorded tape. The transmitters would automatically signal the tape to play such warnings as "Reduce speed school crossing ahead" or "Ice conditions ahead" when the car came within range. Other transmitters would be carried in police patrol cars so that an officer could advise motorists to "pull over, fire engines approaching."

There is only one hitch: once Radio Alert is installed, it cannot be shut off. That's very distracting.