Takata Electronics, which provides electronic safety equipment for the automotive and commercial truck industries, has added a new driver alertness feature to its SafeTrak system.
The new feature detects and monitors erratic driving or weaving within lanes.

The alerts include one for indicating drivers may need rest and one for inadvertent lane departures. The driver alertness feature is available on the SafeTrak 3 product; it includes vehicle monitoring software that tracks the time of day, number of alerts, and variability in driving performance. Companies can use the SafeTrak 3 system to help their drivers better understand their own driving patterns and make adjustments to improve overall road safety, the company says.

"Commercial truck drivers face many distractions while on the road for long hours, this includes drowsiness," said Kirk Morris, vice president, product management and business development for Takata Electronics. "Our system's unique algorithms help operators better manage their driving so they know when to stop for rest breaks, what time of day they generally require breaks, as well as measure their driving performance real time."

SafeTrak system test results have demonstrated a good correlation between the driver alertness index and the driver's actual performance within the lane, Takata says. The driver alertness feature can diagnose the driver's inattention by monitoring the vehicle's performance within the lane and provides a warning so the driver may get rest or better focus on the driving task.

"Simply put, the SafeTrak system saves lives, improves efficiencies and cuts costs," said Morris.

More info: www.safetrak.takata.com