• 25
  • January
    2012

Distracted, fatigued and drunk driving have caused many tragic car accidents and injuries in the Glenwood Springs area. Now, automakers are coming out with more features that allow the car itself to take on some of the responsibilities of safe driving.

On the heels of such technologies offered by Toyota, Lexus and Mercedes, Ford announced last month that it too will soon offer lane-keeping technology. The software is designed to keep drivers from drifting into other lanes as well as detect drowsiness, and encourage drivers to pull over when necessary. It will be offered as an option in Ford's 2013 Fusion and Explorer.

The software utilizes a camera, mounted onto the rear-view mirror, which reads lane markings and monitors whether the car is situated properly within its lane. If the turn signal is not on and the car drifts to either edge of its lane, at speeds higher than 40 mph, the software will determine that the drift is not intentional. It will then cause the steering wheel to vibrate, in an effort to warn the driver. If the driver does not respond to the warning, the program will take control over the steering and move the car back into the center of its lane.

When a car weaves within its lane, the software will make the determination that the driver may be fatigued. To warn the driver, a charm goes off and a message pops up on the dashboard to ask the driver to pull over and get some rest. If the driver does not do so or drive better, the chime and the warning become more severe.

This program does sound like it may hinder negligent, irresponsible and dangerous driving. However, it is not perfect and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not stood behind lane-keeping technology yet.

The software does run into performance problems in some weather and road conditions. Additionally, some people worry that drivers might put too much trust in the software. When using such automotive safety technologies, it is important to remember that ultimately the driver is the one who is responsible for his or her own actions.

Such technology may be able to prevent some accidents and assist drivers during some situations, but hopefully drivers will not take advantage of that by getting behind the wheel when they are not in an alert and capable state of mind.

Source: New York Times, "Trying to Nudge Drowsy Drivers," Randall Stross, Jan. 21, 2012