10 Things I would do if I were President: #3 Implementation of the ATN

It is no surprise to me if you haven't heard of the ATN (Automated Transportation Network). The ATN is something which I first conceived of in the summer of 2004. In simple terms it is a series (hundreds of thousands actually) of structure's designed to monitor, regulate and control our road system. (To accomplish this feat each vehicle would require a transponder to communicate with the network). Because each structure is designed to be above ground and stretch over the existing road network, I have designed it with solar tiles installed on it crossbeam section. The purpose of these solar tiles is not to provide power directly to the network itself but to provide supplemental power to the existing electrical grid (I designed it this way because I recognize that in each unit with capture different amounts of energy based on regional locations and weather conditions)...In the late 1980's and early 1990's there was much talk in the metro Detroit region about the inevitable fully automation of cars. The problem they saw with the cars being able to essential drive themselves was that they needed to be able to "know" where the roadway's were. By implication this meant that the roadways and cars needed to be able to communicate with each other as well as cars being able to communicate with each other. The developments they foresaw in automobiles 20 years ago are realities today. GPS systems are common place; several car makers have models which can park themselves; and many SUV's and mini vans are equipped with sensors and rear view cameras which alert the driver to any hazards or obstructions behind them. Needless to say, the technology required for automobiles to "drive themselves" is upon us. However, the problem still exists of communicating with the road itself, and this is where the ATN comes in. As designed, it will have the ability to monitor, regulate and control the speed and flow of traffic on any road network it is installed on. Until individual vehicles are fully automated, all that is needed is a transponder wired into a car that communicates with the network-sending all relevent information to the unit while recieving up to the second traffic data and the best travel route available. Any rational person can see the potential of this system: Billions saved in policing costs; Billions more saved in lost time due to traffic congestion; 10's of thousands of lives potentially saved a year are just a few of the benefits of such a system; and create millions of jobs initially, and hundreds of thousands of permanent, high paying jobs. Combined with solar tiles on the top cross beam sections of each unit, my rough estimate is that this system could provide 20-25% of our nations energy needs indefinitely. (All of the data I have accumlated for the ATN is approximate and on the low side of my estimates). I believe it would take somewhere in the area of 500,000-600,000 units to complete the ATN on the Interstate system (initially this is where the ATN belongs. Expansion to surface and state roads could come at a future date) with an aggressive build out of 10 years (20 years at the max) at an estimated cost of $4-7 Trillion dollars with a return rate of 8-14% annually-meaning the system would pay for itself in 10-15 years. Of course there is much more to the ATN than just what I have briefly mentioned here, but since our current President is handing out Trillion dollar checks like water (it seems) with no real specifications for how the money should be spent, I think my Trillion dollar idea should get some consideration and it would definitely be a large part of any Presidential campaign platform I would run on.