Driver Attention Assist – A Safety Feature to Avoid Drowsiness While Driving

With the introduction of modern and innovative car safety features, drivers can now feel safe on the road and avoid potential accidents. These car safety features can now detect driver’s sensory motions to monitor their state of focus and attention while driving.

One such car safety feature that takes advantage of sensory technology is the Driver Attention Assist. It is an advanced car feature that was introduced by Mercedes-Benz in its luxury car models. This revolutionary technological feature detects the driver’s drowsiness and warns them at the appropriate time in order to prevent possible fatal road accident.

At first, the Driver Attention Assist was featured in E-Class and S-class cars by Mercedes-Benz. With time and its increasing popularity in terms of usefulness, other car manufacturers starting installing the Driver Attention Assist System in their car models, using different names but the same basic functions.

Main theme and Functioning of Driver Attention Assist

The main theme behind such an innovative car safety feature is the drivers’ drowsiness and state of fatigue during long driving spells. They start to become tiresome and may lead to losing focus on the road ahead. The monotonous journey can often make a driver drowsy and that may result in losing control of the vehicle. One split second of your focus going astray may lead to a catastrophic end. Therefore, it’s important to have a warning mechanism installed in the vehicle that would alert the driver in case of such an incident.

According to a study, 25% of all the dangerous road accidents are caused by drowsiness of driver. This emphasizes the danger of falling asleep momentarily while driving, and to avoid it, Driver Attention Assist is one of the most important car safety technologies.

So what makes the Driver Attention Assist work? Its functioning is quite simple in terms of activation and warning. This needs to be done to keep the driver attentive while driving. As mentioned before, various car brands have introduced similar car safety features in their car models, with alternate names. For instance, Audi called their version of the Driver Attention Assist as Rest Recommendation System, BMW calls it the Active Driving Assistant with Attention Assist and so on. One thing common among these safety features is that they are supported by one or more technologies in their system to work.

Below is a list and highlighting features of the different technologies used by manufacturers for their version of Driver Attention Assist in a car to detect the driver’s drowsiness and fatigue symptoms:

Steering Wheel Movement Monitoring

It is this extremely sensitive signal that regularly detects the steering movements and speed. Through this, the safety feature records the individual behaviour of the driver during the first few minutes of every drive and then compared it to the current driving condition with the help of car’s electronic control unit. If there is a difference detected in movement and speed, the system picks it up as a sign of drowsiness.

Lane Monitoring Technology

Another technology that supports safety features like Driver Attention Assist is the Lane Monitoring Technology. With the use of lane monitoring camera and surround vision camera installed in the car, it detects the markings of the lane and warns the driver if the car is swaying outside of the lane without the right protocol. Failure to maintain lane discipline is seen as a sign of drowsiness by this system.

Also read: Everything to Know about Pre-Crash Safety Systems

Monitoring of Driver’s Facial Expression and Eyes

With the Driver Attention Assist, this advanced technology will take up cues from the driver’s face. This technology uses a camera that checks the face and eyes of the drivers to detect the signs of drowsiness. Once it finds that the driver is becoming drowsy, it alerts and warns the driver with the help of a loud audible signal and by flashing a warning on the instrument cluster display.

These alerts help to bring the attention of the driver back on the road and be cautious of any upcoming risk. If the drowsiness becomes uncontrollable, it is crucial to take a break from driving and stop at the nearest rest area.

Physiological Monitoring

This part takes the safety technology up a notch. Physiological Monitoring involves the use of body sensors to detect the signs of fatigue, lethargy and drowsiness by tracking the heart rate, brain activity and muscle activity.

Key Indicators of the Driver Attention Assist that detects Drowsiness

Other than the movement and speed of the steering wheel while driving, the Driver Attention Assist takes cues from other indicators as well that communicates the state of drowsiness of the driver. Some of these indicators include longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration and speed of the vehicle. The advanced version of this feature also detects the use of pedals and turn indicators.

Significance of Driver Attention Assist for Driving in the UAE

The roads in the UAE, particularly the highways, are designed to be long and monotonous with hardly any brakes in between. As a result, drivers feel fatigued and drowsy during the journey. Other than the long road, factors like lack of sleep or continuous driving can also lead to drowsiness. This behaviour can potentially be dangerous as a slip of attention for a second may result in a hazardous situation.

Keeping these concerns in consideration, the availability and usefulness of the Driver Attention Assist becomes crucial as a car safety feature. With the help of one or a combination of multiple in-built supportive features in the car as well as sensory technology, the driver can be given a nudge to come out of the drowsiness early on to ensure the safety of the driver and passengers.

Recently there has been plenty of headline news in terms of run-over accidents. The principal reasons behind such accidents were identified as over-speeding or inattentive driving. Therefore, vehicles with Driver Attention Assist can become an asset in terms of reducing accidents of such nature.

Car Safety Features that Prevent Accidents

Driving in the UAE is all about following proper driving habits, laws as well as maximizing on the car safety features that are available to you in your particular vehicle. It is only through such observance that drivers can keep themselves, as well as others, on the road safe from potential harm.

Driver Attention Assist is a relatively new, but an essential safety feature. It can be a valuable addition to the safety pack offered in any car as it ensures added safety of the driver and everyone surrounding the car.

So with the aid of such car safety features, coupled with proper sleep and appropriate breaks in between lengthy journeys, you can ensure an attentive and safe journey on the road.

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