JAPAN: Nissan develops car technology which may prevent drink driving and road accidents

Record ID: 464060

  • Title: JAPAN: Nissan develops car technology which may prevent drink driving and road accidents
  • Date: 12th August 2007
  • Summary: (L!3) YOKOTSUKA, JAPAN (AUGUST 2, 2007) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NISSAN ENGINEERS EXPLAINING THE POP-UP ENGINE HOOD VARIOUS OF POP-UP ENGINE HOOD DUMMY AFTER BEING HIT BY CAR
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Science / Technology,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVADL7JEUXHBHTKX9BW3ARK8MEJR
  • Story Text: All drinkers beware. A new concept car with breathalyser-like detection systems may help people planning to drive home from bars.
    Nissan Motor's alcohol-detection sensors monitor the odour, sweat and the alertness of people at the wheel and issue a voice alert from the navigation system or even lock the ignition if necessary.
    The odour sensors on the driver and passenger seats read alcohol levels, while a detector in the gear-shift stick measures the perspiration of the driver's palm when starting the car.
    "This system detects alcohol even if the driver drinks one glass of beer," said Nissan general manager Kazuhiro Doi.
    Other carmakers with detection systems include Sweden's Volvo, which has developed technology in which drivers need to blow into a alcohol measuring unit in the seat belt before the engine can be started.
    But Nissan's car also has a mounted camera that monitors alertness by scanning eye movements. Alarm bells ring and a voice in Japanese or English tells the driver to pull over and rest if the driver is showing signs of drowsiness while an on-road monitor checks to see if the car is in the right lane.
    "Your driving is becoming erratic. Stop your car somewhere safe and take a break," the car warns.
    If that doesn't slow the driver down, the seat belts tightens.
    This technology is still in the development stage, but Doi says the combination of detection systems will ultimately keep an eye on who's behind the wheel.
    While keeping drivers from causing accidents, Nissan is also planning to make their cars more pedestrian-friendly, with a new pop-up engine hood that would cushion the shock of a frontal collision with a passer-by.
    Japan's No. 3 carmaker has no specific timetable for marketing cars with these new safety functions, but it is part of a drive to cut the number of fatalities involving its vehicles to half of 1995 levels by 2015.
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