A number of things stood out a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conference in Washington, D.C., but there was one type of safety device that earned the most attention. The Detroit Free Press reports automakers debuted so-called "intelligent vehicle" technology which will help reduce crashes.

Among the most impressive ideas on display was created by manufactures at Ford, who have designed a technology that allows communication between vehicles that is able to warn drivers of impending dangerous situations they may not have otherwise been aware of.

The technology is still in the early stages, and the NHTSA is going to be launching a pilot program in the near future to see if such car-to-car communication is a viable option in a real world setting. Still, others think that the warning technology alone may not be all it takes.

"You would need to have another method I think, a radar, a sensor, to have a threat validated first to be absolutely sure it's really there," director of engineering at Continental Alfred Eckert told the news source. "Until that is perfected, you can't have vehicles taking control."

According to the NHTSA, there were more than 30,000 fatal crashes in the United States in 2009.