Journal 7 October 8

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33182077/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/

New technology is being developed for use in cars to detect and sound alerts when the driver is distracted or impaired. The technology can observe the driver's behavior and sound an alert and tug on the driver's seatbelt to notify them of obstacles. They can see obstacles in the road such as stopped traffic, and if the system thinks the driver hasn't noticed, it can alert them so they can stop instead of rear ending somebody. There is also technology in development that will read a driver's facial features for signs of fatigue or impairment, such as frequently closing their eyes. Some of these systems will flat out tell the driver to pull over and will continue to jerk the seatbelt until the driver pulls over and stops. A lot of these systems do similar things like look ahead with cameras and detect when the driver is drifting out of the lane they are in. Nissan is actually developing a system that will detect alcohol on the driver's breath and give a dashboard warning if the driver fails the test. If the driver then attempts to shift out of park, their skin will be tested and if they fail, the car will be locked in park. This technology is a great implementation to cars. It could greatly crack down on people driving while impaired, fatigued, or distracted. It won't stop people from doing it immediately, but it will help correct the behavior as it happens and teach people to pay more attention to the road. Of course, people don't have to pay the extra money to get these features installed, but the more cars with them, the better. In this article, the ignition interlock form of anti drunk driving is described. Basically, before the car will even start, the driver has to blow into a tube to have their blood alcohol level tested. If they fail, the car won't start. This is a great idea and should be implemented into more cars, as it would greatly reduce the drunk driving problem.