As part of a partnership with Red Bull—not really—Mercedes-Benz is developing a system that can determine whether a driver is restless or sleepy. We've seen a lot of similar systems in the past for drunk driving, but rarely hear about companies taking precautions against restless drivers, which can be just as dangerous as drunk drivers.
The one previous fatigue monitor, EyeAlert, monitors the eyes for signs of sleepiness. Mercedes' system is a bit more advanced. This system will constantly monitor your driving style. Everything from steering wheel angle, speed, acceleration, blinker usage, pedal habits and more will be set as the "standard" driving style. If this standard is veered away from while driving, due to being tired the system will kick into action and audibly alert the driver.
The system is even capable of recognizing the monotony caused my long road trips. It seems that Mercedes has gone above and beyond what it takes to recognize if a driver is not feeling right and the driving is reflecting it. The problem is that if the driver does veer away from the standard driving parameters, the system will simply warn the individual to take a break. How about linking up with a GPS system to force the car to stop at the nearest convenience store for an energy kick, or maybe automatically rolling down all of the windows? There are more successful of measures than just a verbal warning to kickstart a sleepy driver. The system will be available in 2009 models. [Gizmag]