We already have vehicle systems that can warn when a forward-facing collision is imminent, a driver is becoming fatigued, and when a car is weaving outside the lanes, so why not a car that can tell when a driver is distracted? In Australia, researchers with the Royal Automobile Club have developed a device that can monitor a driver for signs of distraction, and once detected, slow the automobile down dramatically until the driver brings his or her attention back to the road. Participants involved in a research effort were asked to wear a headset that kept tabs on brain activity. Those persons were then told to take part in various distracting tasks, and as the machine monitored the brain, it would signal the car to slow once it was able to tell concentration on the road had been broken.
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