There's an electronic rumblestrip in your future. At least that's the way it looked at the three-day-long Intelligent Transportation Society Demo in East Liberty, OH, last week.

The electronic rumblestrip earns its name from highway rumble strips that alert inattentive -- or dozing -- drivers when they drift out of lane. An on-board electronic version knows when a truck has strayed from its lane and issues an equivalent warning. It some cases it's a sound alert, but in a Volvo demonstration, a vibration in the driver's seat mimicked a real rumblestrip. Freightliner and Mack demonstration trucks featured similar technology, though without the vibrating seats.
Demo trucks featured other evolving technologies as well. Freightliner demonstrated electronic braking. Mack's demo featured the company's new Vehicle Information Profiler, which lets the driver monitor a wide range of vehicle functions and conditions. Volvo's demo vehicle included EBS, blind-spot cameras, and an integrated communication system currently available only in Europe.
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America, based in Washington, DC, coordinates public and private efforts to improve transportation safety and efficiency. The demo was held at the automotive test facilities of the Transportation Research Center, Inc., a non-profit organization.