 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drowsy Drivers ... The New DWI Tom T  |
| |
 Driving while sleepy? Most people don't realize how dangerous it is. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver inattention (a category that includes drowsiness) contributes to 25 to 30 percent of all vehicular crashes. And these percentages are probably conservative because they are based on information collected by police at accident scenes. Drowsiness can only be recorded as a contributing factor in the accident ONLY if the driver admits to being tired, or if there is an eyewitness account.
Another interesting fact with respect to driving while drowsy: A study conducted by the NHTSA in conjunction with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in April of 2006 indicates that driving while drowsy is a contributing factor in 22 percent to 24 percent of all crashes and near-crashes. Not good.
Carmakers are realizing just how dangerous this condition is, so they are developing electronic systems that monitor drivers and agitate them when the system detects that the driver is falling asleep behind the wheel. SAAB and Volvo are leading the field with such anti-drowsy systems.
Saab's anti-drowsiness system is called the Driver Attention Warning System. It uses two miniature infrared cameras(one on the driver's door and one in the center console) to record and analyze the driver's eye movement. If the cameras detect that a driver's eyes have been closed for longer than the length of a normal blink, a chime sounds and the question "Tired?" appears on the instrument panel. If the driver's dozing continues, a second verbal warning announces, "You are tired." A third infraction yields a more severe scolding, "You are dangerously tired! Stop as soon as it is safe to do so!" And anytime the cameras recognize head movement indicating that the driver is focused on something besides what Saab calls the "primary attention zone," the driver's seat vibrates to alert them. Saab's Driver Attention Warning System is being tested now in an eight-month trial supervised by the Road and Transport Research Institute in Sweden.
It will probably take several years for the Driver Attention Warning System to appear on production vehicles, according to Saab. One of the issues Saab is trying to resolve is how to monitor drivers who wear eyeglasses. Thicker lenses and frames confuse the system. However, once the system is ready for the road from a technical standpoint, it will be possible to install on any Saab, according to the automaker.
Volvo's system, on the other hand, uses different methods to achieve what it hopes will be the same result ... alert drivers and decrease roadway mishaps. Its system, called Driver Alert, monitors the distance between the car and the surrounding road markings to determine whether the car is being driven in what the automaker calls a "controlled" fashion. If the driving pattern is thought to be dangerous as a result of driver inattention, an audible alert sounds and a message reading "Driver alert, time for a break" appears on the dash, along with an icon of a steaming coffee cup. Volvo engineers originally looked at eye scanning, but due to problems with accuracy (IE variations in behaviors and eye shapes from person to person) they decided to go in a different direction. Volvo has also developed a Lane Departure Warning System that warns drivers when they cross road markings without a turn signal. Volvo says the system's effectiveness depends in part on the quantity and quality of markings on the road. The Lane Departure Warning System and Driver Alert System came as part of the same option package on the Volvo S80, V70, and XC70 that year.
Another production vehicle utilizing a system similar to Saab's Driver Attention Warning System is the flagship Lexus LS sedan. It uses sensors and a face detection camera to sounds an alert if an obstacle is present when the driver's face is not directed towards the road. Another carmaker, Audi, employs a subtler and less sophisticated driver-warning system, kindly reminding drivers that they have been on the road for two consecutive hours. However, the warning consists merely of a silent and somewhat cryptic flashing "2:00" message in the dashboard display. There is no indication as to what the car monitor wants the driver to do.
According to Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Oregon, systems that enable cars to monitor their drivers are not new. Manufacturers have been working on such systems since the mid-'80s, and Spinella says, "Technology is finally catching up. They first had perspiration sensors on steering wheels, and cameras that watched your face, and all sorts of variations and some are intrusive and pretty annoying." Spinella's concerns are similar to Volvo's. He feels that the technology will have to be very flexible in order to analyze a wide range of faces, and that such technology is still a ways off. He also feels that the warnings could be irritating if, instead of simple beeping, they are delivered in an automated voice. He recalled the verbal warnings that once admonished drivers for leaving their doors ajar. It frustrated some motorists to the point where they had the voices silenced by the dealer. Saab and Volvo hope to avoid irking owners by making the technology optional, and furthermore by giving motorists the ability to turn the sensors off.
Whatever direction the technology moves, it is clear that something has to be done to address this epidemic. Virtually one quarter of all accidents can be attributed to drowsy driving. People are simply not getting enough rest before getting behind the wheel of 2,500 to 6,000 pound machines and barreling down the highway! If you feel sleepy behind the wheel, pull over and get a power nap. Often a 15-to-30-minute nap is just what you need to proceed safely. Being late to an appointment or function is a far better alternative that losing one's life or taking the life of another because you fell asleep at the wheel. It's time to wake up and realize the awesome responsibility associated with driving a vehicle on our roadways!
'Til next time...Keep Rollin'
|
|
 With over 27 years in the automotive industry and nearly a decade in automotive talk radio, Tom Torbjornsen makes learning about cars easy with his personal manner, his expert advice, and his high energy and entertaining style. Tom has the unique gift of simplifying the complex and tearing down the technical, meeting you at your level of understanding. You will be encouraged as you gain the confidence to deal with problems related to the second most expensive purchase you will make in a lifetime your automobile.
Email Tom
Click here to visit the America's Car Show website
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|