Infiniti launch LDW
New system will yell at you if you drift out of your lane
Infiniti, the luxury division of Nissan North America has announced that a new Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system will be available later this year. The system alerts drivers of an unintended movement of the vehicle out of a designated traffic lane.
The new system, which utilises a small camera, speed sensor, an indicator and an audible warning buzzer, will be offered this autumn on 2005 models of Infiniti’s popular FX crossover sport utility vehicle – the first production application of LDW in North America.
"Studies show that 55% of fatal accidents in the U.S. are caused by lane departure ," said Robert Yakushi, Director, Product Safety, Regulatory, Accessory Quality, Nissan North America, Inc. "These are caused by various factors, including driver distraction, inattention or drowsiness. The Lane Departure Warning system generates a warning to help alert the driver that the vehicle is about to move out of its lane ."
The Infiniti LDW system is temporarily disabled by driver activation of the vehicle’s turn signals, which informs the system’s control unit of intended lane changes. The system also features a manual cancel switch, which allows the driver to turn the system off when desired. The system automatically resets when the vehicle is restarted.
The system recognises lane markings through the use of a small camera mounted behind the rear view mirror. The camera’s signal and the vehicle’s speed are sent to the system’s processor unit which combines the information to calculate both the distance between the vehicle and the lane marking and the lateral speed to the lane marking. A judgment is then made as to whether the vehicle is moving out of the lane.
If it is determined that the vehicle is leaving the lane, both visual (indicator light located on the instrument panel) and audible (buzzer) warning signals are generated, alerting the driver to take corrective action. The system will not operate if the camera can’t detect the lane markers or if the vehicle’s speed is below 45 miles per hour.
The Infiniti brand is currently under study for sale in Europe with a possible introduction date before the end of the decade. Though LDW could be available in Europe fitted to a Nissan a bit sooner.
This system does nothing until you are about to do something stupid, which could cause an accident, and then cuts in to warn you. As the article states, drifting out of lane is a major cause of fatalities - and if we're honest, we can all possibly own up to having been a bit drowsey at some point in the last, say, 100,000 motorway miles that we've completed.
We shouldn't forget how to drive, but I do aplaud the manufacturers who are trying to cut the risks of accidents by active safety measures.
This is of course until I have one fitted and it beeps every two seconds thus causing an accident whilst I work out how to throw it out of the window
Guess you wont see any on BMWs then
On a more serious note it probably is a good idea, drunk people and crap drivers as well as tired drivers could benefit.
Cant help thinking though, what if your dozing off then a loud warning sound comes on a startles you, that could actually CAUSE the accident its trying to prevent, just a thought.
System like this would be of most benefit on quiet boring roads with little traffic to keep you awake . . .
Still, good idea as IIRC there are more people killed on the roads by falling asleep than any other cause . . . ?
Fd
It showed a long straight desert road with no other traffic. It looked very early in the morning. The screen showed black borders creeping in from the top and bottom, trying to show (I assumed) a pair of eyes closing. Eventually the screen went black and the buzzer sounded. "eyes" opened and lane discipline was restored. (presumably for events to recur some minutes later, only worse...)
During part of this ad there was that small print at the bottom of the screen: "don't drive while tired".
Hypocrites? Or worthwhile safety pioneers?
1. people who change lanes without signalling will get the "sleepy driver" warning... meaning people buying cars expensive enough to have this feature will either have to deactivate it every time they get in the car or be forced to courteously treat other motorists by being forced to indicate or be buzzed at.
2. I got a temporary job that has me driving over an hour to work every day for the length of this college semester, and as I am a college student I generally stay up late. More than once I've found myself drifting sleepily off the road, only to have the serrated shoulder or rumble strips to lurch me back to consciousness and save my life. I would LOVE such a system.
I'll have to turn it off for 5 months each year...
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