A sedan has been developed by Nissan which sniffs out a drunken driver behind the wheel and immobilizes the vehicle. It uses a number of electronic gadgets such as ‘noses’, cameras and behavioral detectors to decide if a driver is inebriated.
The system can even distinguish between the driver’s breath and that of a person along for the ride who may have had a drink. Some cars are already being fitted with ‘alco-locks’, for which the driver is required to blow into a tube to give a breath sample before allowed to start off.
The Nissan technology is diverse. It doesn’t need any act by the driver. Instead, motorists are scrutinized from the moment they get behind the wheel. An alcohol odor sensor checks the breath while another tests for alcohol in the sweat of a palm touching the gear knob.
There’s a miniature camera mounted on the dashboard which examines the face and eye movements to notify whether the driver is fit to drive. It measures the rate of blinking which is an indicator of sleepiness. It also examines features such as the apathy of the mouth to check for yawning.
When the detected alcohol level is above a specified limit, the system locks the transmission, immobilizing the car. A ‘drink-driving’ voice alert is echoed using the car’s satellite navigation system.
The expertise could be a helping hand for the drivers with boozing problems. This could also bring payback to others in the form of low insurance premiums. The Government Road Safety Act has forced the remorseless offenders to fit an ‘alco-lock’ if they want their license back.
Nevertheless, the Nissan system solely operates as an alco-lock for which the Department for Transport has responded optimistically. The department is ready to welcome any technological innovations in this field.
Nissan claims that the technology could be pioneered into new cars within five years and could be as common as airbags or satellite navigation systems. The face-checking camera and other devices monitor the state of alertness throughout the journey. A Nissan spokesman said:
When the system detects signs of drowsiness, a voice and message alert is triggered via the navigation system. It also activates a seat belt mechanism which tightens around the driver to give them a mild jolt and get their immediate attention.
This is a good effort from Nissan to usher something which should regardless of a previous record be fitted into every car for one cannot check whether the owner of a car is a soaker. Alcohol is the most common addiction after tobacco, which itself justifies this technology as drunken drivers amount to a heavy number of fatalities every year. If they don’t care atleast the carmakers can, to teach them a serious lesson.
[Courtesy: Thisislondon]
