A satellite orbiting the earth could someday prevent an auto accident…

That’s the word from Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, Ford’s chief technical officer. He’s referring to GPS satellites, so of course, he really means that data from them could be used with other tech to prevent accidents. The somewhat misleading discussion at USA Today explains:

Ford and Auburn are trying to see if GPS satellites can act as an early warning system that detects when a vehicle is about to lose control and communicate with the vehicle’s stability control systems and other safety features to prevent a rollover or other serious accident.

Those satellite won’t detect anything - but tools here on the ground might use information from them to determine location information and determine if a vehicle is out of control and warn other cars.