driving

Toyota working on anti-drunk driving technology

Automotive / By /

In much the same way that certain diseases have been eradicated and we as a society have shed them from our collective consciousness, so one day we may forget that drunk driving was ever the scourge it is today. More than a few companies are working on solutions that will aid in this quest. Toyota is one of these companies.

They are developing anti-drunk driving equipment that would lock the ignition of a vehicle if high levels of alcohol are detected in the driver. The technology uses both a breathalyzer and photo recognition software. In the case of vehicles that are company/fleet cars, it will also alert the home office. Nissan is also working on similar tech. Kudos Toyota & Nissan.

via ChannelNewsAsia

Anti-sleep driving alarm

Automotive, Gizmo of the Day, Miscellaneous / By /

In keeping with our love of all types of alarms (clocks mainly), here’s one to help keep you awake when you’re behind the wheel, manning an important station, studying, or perhaps in the middle of that very important gaming session! It’s a gadget that goes behind your ear and can tell when your head tilts forward more than 30 degrees at which point it will emit a high-pitched alarm that will surely bring you out of your slumber.

This is the type of thing that should almost be mandated for truckers, couriers or others who are on the road a lot, and it’s very reasonably priced after all.

Gimme!

Price: $14.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Any multitasking while driving is dangerous

Miscellaneous / By /

More research into this contentious area has shown that our brains simply aren’t built for multitasking, yet alone performing other tasks while driving. Research done by neuroscientist Marcel Just of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and his colleagues shows that using part of your brain for language processing reduces activity in the spatial regions used for driving. Since driving is the less-ingrained task, then that’s going to take even more of a hit.

But the reduction in ability isn’t limited to when you talk on the phone or with someone else in the car, but other things like attending to the radio, eating or dealing with kids or pets. Ok, so the research is there; now we as a society just need to accept it, and put the correct guidelines in place.

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