Toyota will begin implementing a sensor-based system in its vehicles by 2021 that will allow them to communicate with other vehicles on the road as well as infrastructure to reduce collisions, the automaker has announced.

The Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) systems, as they are known, will initially be added to Toyota and Lexus vehicles and implemented across both brands lineups by the middle of the 2020s. The systems enhance what is known as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications.

The technology can significantly enhance safety on the roads and deliver traffic flow benefits, according to the company.

DSRC technology, which has been comprehensively tested through government-industry collaborations, supports the broadcast of precise, anonymized vehicle information several times per second. For example, data such as location, speed and acceleration can be captured and communicated to other DSRC-enabled vehicles and devices to help drivers prevent collisions.

In addition, helpful real-time information about the roadways and infrastructure — such as potential hazards, slow or stopped vehicles ahead, or obstructed signals, signs, and road conditions — can be communicated to drivers to enhance safety and improve efficient driving practices.

Pioneered in Japan in 2015, today more than 100,000 DSRC-equipped Toyota and Lexus vehicles are on the roads in that country, providing motorists with useful and detailed surrounding vehicle and traffic signal information.

In the U.S. in 2016 alone, some 37,461 lives were lost on the nation's roadways, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Toyota and Lexus believe their DSRC systems can create a safer and more efficient driving ecosystem, while advancing connected technology deployment industry-wide.

"By allowing vehicles' intelligent systems to collaborate more broadly and effectively through DSRC technology, we can help drivers realize a future with zero fatalities from crashes, better traffic flow and less congestion," said Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor North America (TMNA).