Road distraction and tiredness are responsible for a large number of accidents each year. Volvo is aware of that, so they came up with Driver Alert Control (DAC), a new system that, unlike Nissan’s Anti Drunk Driving Technology, for example, Volvo’s system doesn’t monitor the driver, but it analyzes the car’s behavior. Using a small camera mounted on the windscreena and motion-detecting sensors, the system detects if the car is being driven in a controlled, consistent manner and when risks show up it alerts the driver via an audible signal, while a text message and coffee cup symbol appear in the car’s information display advising the driver to take a break.
Another system Volvo wants to implement is Lane Departure Warning (LDW), that uses the same cameras monitoring the car’s position between the road markings. If the car crosses one of the road markings without reason such as if the indicator hasn’t been used, it gives out a warning sound. Both systems are activated when the car reaches 40mph and they will stay active as long as the speed exceeds 37mph.
Both systems will be available as options on the new V70, XC70 and S80 models at the end of the year, and will be on display at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. View more pics of how the systems work after the jump.
If you enjoyed this post, you might wanna subscribe to our RSS feed. Also, you can subscribe by e-mail and get the latest news about cars, auto industry, concept cars, tuning in your inbox. It's completely free!
