Technology is providing wonderful tools to make driving a safer activity for many Americans. Researchers at North Carolina State have expanded on the lane maintenance warnings that high-end cars now have.
The result is a computer program that uses cameras to collect data about the car's position and the lanes around it to keep it from traveling outside prescribed boundaries. Unlike systems that alert drivers to changes, the new project tracks multiple lanes and is currently being considered for automated highway and military safety programs, according to media reports.
"We develop computer vision programs, which allow a computer to understand what a video camera is looking at —whether it is a stop sign or a pedestrian. For example, this particular program is designed to allow a computer to keep a car within a lane on a highway, because we plan to use the program to drive a car," says Dr. Wesley Snyder, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research, according to MyNC.com.
Some of the biggest backers of the new technology are researchers and experts behind the Zero Deaths Program, an initiative that searches for ways to get the nation's roadway fatalities down to a goal of zero.
"Toward Zero Deaths says even if you were drowsy and drove off the road, shouldn't the roadway environment be forgiving enough that it doesn't turn into a serious injury or death?" asked AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety president Peter Kissinger, according to USA Today.
Several states have already put funding towards the goal, which highlights the advent of new technologies including the vibrating seats in vehicles that have crossed lane dividers, a problem that the NC state software would actually improve upon. They also look to interlock systems to prevent drunk driving and increase electronics stability controls available on many new cars.
The technology is nascent, but as the unintended acceleration scares across multiple car models demonstrates, it is not a panacea. Any graduate of an online
online traffic school understands that no matter how safe the car is, the driver has the ultimate control of what happens when the vehicle is in motion.
More importantly, the N.C. State project is currently only a proof of concept. Drivers who drift off during late night trips may have the optional vibration technology in certain cars, but roadways still require active participation and motorists may not be able to rely on technology to prevent the effects of not having been properly trained in defensive driving courses.
They may, however, be helped by roadway changes that now include rumble strips and larger medians and other technology that has led to reduced roadway fatalities since their institution in states like Utah and West Virginia. Aftermarket lane detection systems could also help to improve the safety of drivers who may have become distracted, although they are not tied to braking systems like those installed by manufacturers including Lexus and other luxury brands.
