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Car Kicks Bad Drivers to the Curb
June 09, 2008 6:01 AM
by
Josh Katz
Researchers at MIT’s AgeLab are developing the $1.5-million “Aware Car,” with built-in technology meant to alert seniors when they should no longer be in the driver’s seat.
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Unfortunately, the car probably won’t be available at a nearby dealership anytime soon; the vehicle, which will boast cameras, monitors and sensors, is 20 years away.
But 20 years from now, many in the large baby boom generation should be at an age when, for many people, reflexes slow and senses deteriorate to a point that makes driving difficult or even dangerous. Also by that time, one in four drivers will be 65 or older.
“The idea is to build a car that learns the drivers’ habits, then reacts appropriately when the driver alters them,” according to Wired. Younger drivers can benefit from the technology as well. Cameras and infrared sensors will monitor eyes, eyelid movements, breathing and even point out low blood sugar-levels, telling the drivers when its time to get off the road.
A 2005 article from Time magazine examined the issue of senior drivers, two years after an 87-year-old driver killed 10 people when he barreled through a Santa Monica, Calif., farmer’s market. Following the incident, a number of states launched programs aimed at helping seniors identify when it’s time to hang up the car keys, whether through road tests or counseling.
Elder drivers aside, states are also experimenting with technology to curb drunk driving to enhance safety on the roads. New Mexico obtained great success when it required DWI offenders to use breath-alcohol locks, which prevent people from driving when their blood alcohol level exceeds a certain point.
But 20 years from now, many in the large baby boom generation should be at an age when, for many people, reflexes slow and senses deteriorate to a point that makes driving difficult or even dangerous. Also by that time, one in four drivers will be 65 or older.
“The idea is to build a car that learns the drivers’ habits, then reacts appropriately when the driver alters them,” according to Wired. Younger drivers can benefit from the technology as well. Cameras and infrared sensors will monitor eyes, eyelid movements, breathing and even point out low blood sugar-levels, telling the drivers when its time to get off the road.
A 2005 article from Time magazine examined the issue of senior drivers, two years after an 87-year-old driver killed 10 people when he barreled through a Santa Monica, Calif., farmer’s market. Following the incident, a number of states launched programs aimed at helping seniors identify when it’s time to hang up the car keys, whether through road tests or counseling.
Elder drivers aside, states are also experimenting with technology to curb drunk driving to enhance safety on the roads. New Mexico obtained great success when it required DWI offenders to use breath-alcohol locks, which prevent people from driving when their blood alcohol level exceeds a certain point.
Headline Link: The ‘Aware Car’
The ‘Aware Car’, filled with “cameras, monitors and sensors that keep tabs on drivers and their behavior to improve safety,” is still 20 years away. But the technology should come out when the Baby Boomer generation reaches that age when auto accidents increase substantially.
Source: Wired
Related Topics: The problem with older drivers; technology for making driving safer
Senior drivers
An Aug. 2005 Time magazine article writes: “Not all older drivers pose safety hazards, but people 75 and older have more fatal crashes than any other group except teenagers. And drivers who are cognitively impaired—about 25% of the 65-and-older group—are 7.5 times as likely as nonimpaired drivers to be at fault in a crash, exceeding the rate for even drunk drivers.”
Source: Time
Breathalyzers and drunk driving
A May 29 editorial in Newsday cites the advantages of the breath-alcohol lock—a device that can be installed to prevent a car from starting if the driver's breath reveals too much alcohol—in curbing people from driving under the influence. A law in New Mexico requiring DWI offenders to use the locks “is credited with reducing recidivism by 60 percent.”
Source: Newsday
Five months after France prohibited smoking in cafés, the government submitted a decree to force 44,000 cafés, bars, restaurants and nightclubs to have electronic Breathalyzer tests on hand by the beginning of 2009, according to a May 13 International Herald Tribune article. Although the customers are not required to use them, the French hope their availability will help reduce deadly accidents. But “the industry is not thrilled to have to comply with another potentially costly rule,” according to the Tribune.
Source: International Herald Tribune
Reference: Automotive news
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