Hard as it may be to believe, Los Angeles car accident lawyers believe that there is such a thing as too much safety technology in your car. As automobiles become safer, and auto makers invest in more and more sophisticated gadgetry to help you drive safely, there is a risk of driver inattention which could actually, ironically enough, increase your risk of an accident.
A separate field of auto safety is studying driver efficiency, and the impact of safety technology in impacting driver attention. Researchers recently found that there were some earlier unknown side-effects of self- driving vehicles. These so-called autonomous vehicles, which make it very easy to drive, may induce a sense of complacency, and even fatigue. When a driver does not have much to do in the car, he is much more likely to lose concentration, and become inattentive.
Several automakers have already introduced gadgets that are aimed at monitoring drivers who are in danger of slipping into such a state of inattention. For example, Mercedes-Benz S-Class models come with a feature called Enhanced Attention Assist. The technology is designed to analyze motorist behavior while driving. The system analyses how the driver performs on more than 70 parameters in the first few minutes after he begins driving. It monitors the steering movement, speed, and control operation and monitors changes in these. It also displays its analysis of the driver’s attention levels on the car’s dashboard.
If the system believes that the driver’s attention levels are seriously low, it will issue an alert, and encourage the driver to take a rest stop. An enhanced version of the same technology even directs motorists to the nearest coffee stop.
