DETROIT - Would you pay more for a car or SUV that warns you if you’re falling asleep or not paying attention behind the wheel?
As safety features such as automatic emergency braking and lane-centering make their way from luxury vehicles down to lower-cost rides for the masses, distracted driver alert systems are coming with them. At last month’s New York International Auto Show, Hyundai and Subaru both announced such systems in mainstream vehicles.
Distracted driver alert systems started showing up in luxury cars about a decade ago. Mercedes-Benz had a system that displayed a lighted coffee cup icon on the dashboard. Over the years they’ve become more sophisticated and made their way into mainstream vehicles, usually on pricier versions.
For instance, Subaru’s “DriverFocus Distraction Mitigation System” uses a dashboard camera to watch the driver’s eyes and face. If it sees the driver is looking away from the front of the vehicle for an extended period, it will beep and show the message “Keep eyes on road” on the dashboard.
On the newly redesigned 2020 Outback SUV, the system will be standard on the three priciest versions: the Touring, Touring XT and the Limited XT. It will be an option on the Limited, the lowest cost version with leather seats.
Hyundai’s system is standard on the Venue, an entry-level SUV that will start under $19,000. It doesn’t watch the driver’s face. Instead, it uses the same front-facing camera as the standard automatic emergency braking and lane assist. If you swerve or veer, the Venue’s software will sound a bell and the dash display will politely show a coffee cup and the words “Take a Break.”
Subaru, which has made safety a cornerstone of its marketing efforts, says its buyers are safety conscious and will be interested in the feature, even if it costs more.
Other systems on luxury vehicles are more sophisticated. The one on Cadillac’s Super Cruise semi-autonomous system makes sure the driver is paying attention and will even pull to the side of the road if they aren’t. Mercedes’ Attention Assist system tracks more than 70 variables including time of day, elapsed driving time and steering movement to determine if a driver is tired or not paying attention. When a certain threshold is reached, it issues audible and visible warnings. (AP)