A professor has created a revolutionary device that can potentially decrease the number of rear-end driving collisions by what he describes as a “smart” brake light.

Dragos Andrei, a civil engineering professor, calls his device the Center High Mount Deceleration LED Strip. The LED strip is installed on a car in addition to the regular brake lights.

The LED strip turns on when a vehicle slows down. Unlike a standard brake light, which is either on or off, the strip lights up according to how quickly the car is decelerating. If a driver is gradually slowing, only a small portion of the LED strip will light up. If the driver suddenly brakes, the entire strip will illuminate.

“It’s a very simple idea — going from something binary, the traditional, ‘I pushed the brake or I didn’t push the brake,’ to something smart,” he says. “This device can signal if you’re slowing down rather than just signaling that you’re stopping.”