Cars stuck in traffic or on slippery roads will be able to communicate with other vehicles in a bid to cut down on traffic jams and road accidents, under European Commission plans.

EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said the idea was part of a cunning plan to reduce road accidents. She said that getting critical messages through quickly and accurately is a must for road safety.

In 2006, more than 42,000 people died and more than 1.6 million were injured in road accidents in the European Union. Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr said that the plan was optional.  The technology works like this: a car detects a slippery patch on a road and delivers the information automatically to cars located nearby.  This appears as a warning on all drivers' dashboards.

If a traffic management center wanted to inform drivers of a sudden road closure, and the alternative route to take, it could send the information to a transmitter detector along the respective road, which would then pass it on to vehicles driving by.

It should be coming to a car near you by 2010-2011.