Patent ID: 7427929

Claim:
An apparatus associated with a host vehicle, the apparatus providing information related to the host vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a sensor, the sensor providing a sensor output related to a vehicle parameter; an electronic circuit, receiving the sensor output, and determining if the host vehicle provides a hazardous condition to other vehicles using the sensor output, and providing an output signal if the hazardous condition exists; and a communication unit, the communication unit transmitting an advisory message on receiving the output signal from the electronic circuit, the advisory message including information related to the vehicle parameter, the electronic circuit being further operable to determine if the host vehicle is on a highway, the advisory message being transmitted only if the host vehicle is on the highway, the advisory message further including transmitted power data related to the transmitted power of the advisory message, whereby a receiving system associated with another vehicle can estimate proximity to the host vehicle using a received signal strength and the transmitted power data.