In light of several recent fatal car/bike incidents I thought this little news story was eerily coincidental. Perhaps technology can play a role in making our streets safer.
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Toyota Computer Makes You Watch the Road
TOKYO (AP) – Japanese automaker Toyota has developed a safety technology that it says will keep the driver’s eyes on the road. An image-processing computer system developed by Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and a Toyota affiliate uses a camera near the steering wheel to detect when the driver stops looking straight ahead.
The system flashes a light on the dashboard display and emits a beeping noise when the eyes start to wander. If the driver still doesn’t respond, brakes kick in, Toyota said Tuesday. The feature will be offered in Lexus luxury models set to be sold in Japan in spring next year. Toyota won’t comment on whether it will be offered in models sold abroad, company spokeswoman Keiko Nakajima said.
Research shows that most accidents happen because the driver isn’t paying attention, according to Toyota.
We’ll take any help we can get at this point…but I wish they’d spend their resources on driver safety education instead.