Assessing driver fatigue

An innovative safety system that could reduce accident levels is being developed in Sweden.
February 27, 2012 Read time: 1 min
An innovative safety system that could reduce accident levels is being developed in Sweden. This new technology is intended to determine whether drivers are too tired to drive. Accident data shows that high levels of road accidents are caused by drivers who are too tired while at the wheel and this new system uses eye-tracking to test if the person is not in a fit state to drive. The test involves the person tracking a moving ball and of the eye movements show too slow a response, this reveals the state of fatigue. The aim is to introduce the system as a package for modern cars, similar to the alco-lock devices now installed on many vehicles. As part of the development project some 24 people have undergone tests on the system, which is being developed jointly with the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) at Linköping in Sweden. The Swedish police force has also expressed its interest in the technology for evaluating how tired drivers are to assess their state of fitness to drive.

Related Content

  • Research shows that many UK drivers have uncorrected vision
    November 9, 2012
    A new report commissioned by insurance firm RSA reveals that a high percentage of drivers get behind the wheel despite having defective vision that is not corrected. The study shows that thousands of accidents can be attributed to poor driver vision. Estimates suggest that up 2,900 casualties could be attributed to crashes caused by drivers with uncorrected vision and that this could cost in the region of €41.2 million (£33 million)/year in terms of lost economic activity and emergency crew callouts. Resear
    Read More
  • Safety gains on Europe’s roads with lower KSI rates
    February 19, 2014
    Better road safety is helping to cut KSI rates right across the EC - Mike Woof writes Road safety continues to improve in Europe, with official statistics for 2012 showing a drop in fatalities of 2,661 compared with the figures for 2011. The latest data from Pan-European police body TISPOL shows an encouraging trend towards better road safety. This highlights safety improvements right across the EU. In 2012, a total of 27,700 people were killed in road crashes in the European Union’s 27 member states, eq
    Read More
  • Alcohol consumption car crash cause
    December 15, 2014
    A new report from insurance firm Allianz highlights the appalling risks to road users resulting from drink driving. "On a global level, every 10th fatal accident can be traced back to alcohol. Men are more likely to expose themselves to this danger, risking their lives with it," according to Christoph Lauterwasser, Head of the Allianz Center for Technology (AZT) in Munich. The fatality rates from road traffic crashes that have resulted from alcohol use have been investigated by the World Health Organisatio
    Read More
  • Let’s go party
    October 3, 2018
    Some friends in the US decided to turn a toy Barbie Mustang car into something rather more entertaining. The men fitted a Honda motorcycle engine and new driveline components, including go-kart tyres. This allowed a top speed of 115km/h, which it could reach in just six seconds, making it rather lively and spirited and also difficult to control. The vehicle is definitely not likely to be made road legal any time soon and nor is a model with a similar performance ever likely to be available from the original
    Read More

Highlighted Content