The Hindu Business Line : Regaining control in the nick of time

Car manufacturers are stepping forward to integrate warning systems in their cars, which will constantly monitor the driver for any signs of inattentive driving. The whole logic behind dynamic, real-time monitoring and warning devices is to provide adequate time for the driver to react to a potential accident situation.

— S. Muralidhar

BMW is expected to launch its 2008 and 2009 models with latest driver warning systems as part of optional fitment.

A huge majority of road fatalities and accidents on our highways happen due to inattentive driving. Around the world too, this is a leading cause for accidents accounting for nearly a third of all fatalities.

Inattentive driving could be caused by many reasons, including just plain careless driving.

n the other hand, the other causes could be drunken driving or drowsiness. There are everyday examples of collisions that were caused due to such inattentive driving and these unfortunate events tend to happen both during the day and at night.

In-car warning systems

With the kind of increase in driving speeds that we are witnessing on our highways, what with the Government also planning an increase in speed limits, inattentive driving is a huge risk both for the person driving the car and the other road users.

Driving under the influence of alcohol, drowsiness and the other types of inattentive driving caused by distractions such as the use of cell phones, watching movies on a dashboard mounted screen, etc., are all practices that can be extremely dangerous when you are driving the vehicle.

These can be restricted only by effective policing and by self-motivated restraints on the part of the vehicle user. However, car manufacturers are also stepping forward to integrate warning systems in their cars, which will constantly monitor the driver for any signs of inattentive driving.

DUI and Drowsiness

Car manufacturers and governments in many countries are working together to find solutions to the problem of negligent driving caused by alcohol-induced intoxication. Manufacturers such as Volvo, BMW, Saab and Audi are trying various sensors and equipment to detect if the driver is fit to be at the wheel.

Some technology experiments currently under testing include ones where the driver has to take a blow-test at equipment pre-installed inside the car before the vehicle’s on-board systems allow the engine to be started. If the driver’s breath indicates a high blood alcohol level, the car won’t start.

But, in addition to inebriation, there is another fairly common reason why drivers tend to become inattentive. Sleeping at the wheel or drowsiness is another major cause for accidents.

In India too, as is the case in other countries of the west, dosing off while driving on highways at relatively high speeds is a leading cause for fatal accidents.

Types of driver warning systems

To improve active safety standards that actually protect both the car’s occupants and other road users, car manufacturers around the world are working on on-board systems that will monitor the driver and the car for possible signs of driver fatigue and drowsiness.

Systems, incorporating different technologies that aid in the detection of the level of driver alertness are under various stages of adoption or development.

Most of these systems are classified as Advance Warning Systems or Driver Warning Systems or Lane Departure Warning Systems. Lane departure warning systems as the name suggests are ones that detect an uncontrolled shift from the lane in which the car was being driven into an adjacent one. These systems monitor the car’s behaviour while it is on the road to detect uncontrolled lane exits.

These systems rely either on a camera mounted at the front of the car or a combination of other hardware that also detect lack of steering input and/or loss of steering torque.

The camera monitors the track of the car and pre-programmed algorithms enable the related equipment in the car to detect an uncontrolled departure from the lane on which it was travelling.

This could be an indicator that the driver is losing control over the car due to inattentive driving. The lane departure warning system is connected to an alarm system, which then emits a shrill alarm note or the sound of a rumbling strip to alert the sleepy or drunken driver.

Some of these systems developed by, among others, Volvo and BMW also involve vibrating seats to alert the driver that he/she is losing control of the car.

Other advance warning systems or driver warning systems depend on highly sensitive electronics that enable them to monitor the driver’s eyelid movements or detect a drop in the driver’s body temperature to determine if he is drowsy.

Some very high-end ‘hypovigilance’ systems use in-car cameras, GPS navigation systems and/or an anti-collision radar system to monitor parameters such as the driver’s eyelid behaviour, gaze direction and steering grip level to determine if the driver is drowsy.

The system’s response to the threat may include an audible alarm, vocal command, or a vibration alert with the help of a device attached to the seat belt clip.

For example, Saab’s drowsiness detection technology called Driver Attention Warning System uses two cameras to constantly record the driver’s eye movement and eyelid closure duration to detect if there is a possibility of drowsiness setting in.

The car’s on-board computer uses proprietary algorithms to detect changes in driver behaviour.

Warnings and alerts include displays and voice prompts that urge the driver to pull over and take rest if fatigue or drowsiness is detected.

The whole logic behind these dynamic, real-time monitoring and warning devices is the need for providing adequate time for the driver to react to a potential accident situation.

And here, just half a second of additional reaction time could be the difference between an inevitable collision and regaining control of the vehicle.

Carmakers like Volvo and BMW are expected to launch their 2008 and 2009 models with some of these driver warning systems as part of optional fitment in cars such as the BMW 7-Series and Volvo S80 and XC70.

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