Distracted driving continues to pose a major safety hazard to the public and few types of distracted driving are as dangerous as falling asleep at the wheel.
Drive Guardian is a safety alert system with a driver-facing camera that detects drowsiness. After setting it up and turning on a vehicle’s engine, the camera monitors drivers’ eyes and pupils in real-time and, using sophisticated algorithms, the device alerts driver by displaying LED indicator lights and sounding audio warnings whenever they are drowsy or distracted.
Drive Guardian ships in July at $249. But early bird Indiegogo backers can get one for a pledge starting at $169. Its makers hope to raise $50,000 by April 21.
This is a useful device for any driver, whether they have ever nodded off behind the wheel or not. It’s probably especially useful for long-haul truck drivers or anybody else who travels a long distance for either work or leisure. It’s no sure thing because there are so many distracted driving products already, some of which -– like U-Wake –- are also specifically designed to prevent crashes as a result of drivers falling asleep.
But, as long as it indeed works as well as its maker claims, Drive Guardian seems to be a more comfortable option than U-Wake because there is no headband or other item that drivers have to wear with Drive Guardian.