Car Insurance
Driver Alert system aims to reduce accidents
Tue, 06 Dec 2005
A new system has been developed in order to cut the number of accidents as well as car insurance costs caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel.
Driver Alert monitors the distance between the car and markings on the road by using a camera positioned between the rear view mirror and the windscreen.
If the car begins to veer away from the road markings, the system will automatically alert the driver using audible and visual warnings.
Dr Wolfgang Birk, Driver Alert project manager at Volvo, said the system aimed to use the motion of the car rather than eye movements as a more reliable indication of an imminent crash.
"We do not monitor human behaviour - which varies from one person to another - but instead the effect of that behaviour - so there is less risk of false alarms," Dr Birk said.
Recent studies have revealed that driver fatigue is a major cause of accidents. According to research by Loughborough University, motorists falling asleep at the wheel cause more accidents than drink driving in the UK.
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