Vareek Bhai

I N D N 2 1 2Product Based Design

Project Two - Design for the real world

Topic Research

History:

Falling asleep at the wheel is fatal but drowsy driving is also as dangerous. 

"The scope of the problem

Although it may be difficult to attribute a fatal vehicle crash to drowsy driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 2.5% of fatal crashes and 2% of injury crashes involve drowsy driving.² These estimates are probably conservative, though, and up to 5,000 or 6,000 fatal crashes each year may be caused by drowsy drivers."

Among nearly 150,000 adults aged at least 18 years or older in 19, 4.2% reported that they had fallen asleep while driving at least once in the previous 30 days

Interesting Fact:

Drowsy Driving and Alcohol

Cognitive impairment after approximately 18 hours awake is similar to that of someone with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05%.^8-10 After about 24 hours awake, impairment is equivalent to a BAC of 0.10%, higher than the legal limit in all states.^10-11

In addition, lower levels of alcohol (below the legal limit) amplify the effects of inadequate sleep.^12-13

All information retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsdrowsydriving/index.html Distract of Colombia 

Influences/Causes:

- Not getting an efficient amount of sleep (7-8 hours minimum) 

- Medication

- Alcohol or drug use

Prevention already in places:

- Rumble strips on the outer sides of the road

- Cats eyes in the centre of the road

- Billboards advising people to rest and sleep before driving long distance and never drive tired

Symptoms of drowsy driving:

- Yawning and blinking frequently

- Difficulty remembering the last few kms driven

- missing your exit

- Drifting between lanes

Prevention in place at the moment are effective but they obviously arnt as effective as intended, I think that there needs to be a system inside your vehicle to prevent this from occurring and stops drowsy driving as it is dangerous and fatal.