Assistive Technology for Novice Drivers Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

Transportation Safety
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Assistive Technology for Novice Drivers
Introduction
Safety regulations and technologies are increasingly becoming important for novice drivers across the world. A novice driver is a person who has held a driving license for less than two years. Novice drivers are termed as inexperienced and don’t have the full knowledge of the road safety practices. There have been numerous accidents reported that have been caused by novice drivers prompting to various measures aimed at curbing this menace for example night time driving restrictions, zero alcohol content in the blood, etc. These measures are aimed at making it safe per kilometer drove instead of reducing the number of kilometers covered. However, the measures have proved to be of little or no help at all in averting to the problem caused by Novice driving.
Currently, there are little empirical and theoretical indications that point out the precise requirements of safe driving. Therefore, the issue of novice driver should be considered at a wider perspective. Research has shown that for novice drivers, driving is a complex conscious motor skill taking place in a complex environment involving other complicated factors. In most cases and many countries licensing of drivers takes place in the late teenage years. Several factors in the teenage years influence the safety of driving. In the recent past, there have been developments of technologies that have been developed to assist the novice drivers in their experience. Some of the technologies have proved to be very efficient offering positive solutions. Automatic braking systems and sensors for switching lanes are just some of the standard safety technologies developed. In the coming future, there are proposals for totally unmanned vehicles technologies that will assist in the safety of novice drivers.
Problem Statement
There are several accidents that are associated with novice driver especially immediately after driving schools. The graph below shows the number of fatalities caused the inexperience novice drivers and the progression as they gain experience. There are reduced fatalities as they gain experience


Fatalities drops as novice drivers gain experience (Le & Chen, 2016)
Objectives
The aim of this paper is to ascertain the safety measures for novice drivers through the integration of safety technologies in the vehicles. In doing so, the paper will also delve into the adoption of other safety standards, insurance policies and the government interventions in trying to combat the issue. Weak measures for novice drivers risk unexpected traffic accidents that may result to negatively publicity or even loss of life. The paper seeks to explore;
a) Safety requirements or restrictions for novice drivers
b) The present legislations and regulations for novice drivers
c) Some of the current technologies employed in vehicles to assist the novice drivers
d) Future technological plans in vehicles and roads to help the novice drivers
Most important solutions in terms of technologies, impacts and challenges
Smart head lights
Headlights are a paramount topic in the safety of cars. There has been the use of static headlights for the longest history of automobiles. However, in the recent past, there have been developments of automatic adaptive headlights. The lights can adjust and adapt to any condition to allow the driver to see through rain, snow and be able to dodge common road obstacles. The lights have the ability to auto-level, adapt to any curves on the road and to turn on and off depending on the levels of the lights.
The adaptive headlights have been hailed to be one of the best innovations that will help in improving driving safety, especially for novice drivers. The lights systems can automatically adjust to any situation or condition without the diver’s interaction. One of the remarkable features of these lights is that it can be able to rotate depending on the angle of the steering wheel automatically. This feature is critical in the case of curves on the road.
The use of static lights in the past was very dangerous because of blinding other vehicles and pedestrians in case of full headlights. There are a lot of negative impacts of blinding the drivers using the headlight because the inevitable can happen for example accidents. The adaptive headlights avoid blinding other vehicles and even pedestrians reducing the accidents caused by road blindness by significant margins. For example, the lights patterns are reduced in the case of a two-way slopped road.
The lights have high and low beams that are adjusted using sensors. There is some coordination between the sensors and the lighting systems that is capable of detecting the oncoming traffic, the tail lights of the cars in front and the headlights of the cars behind. Based on the condition of the traffic, the lights can adjust accordingly.
Most of the novice drivers don’t have the experience to drive in inclement weather for example torrential rains and fogs. Many accidents happen in such conditions mostly due to lack of visibility. The adaptive headlights can assist the driver even in harsh weather conditions. There is a remarkable feature that activates the anti-fog lights and rotates the headlights to about eight degrees outwards and about two degrees down. The anti-fog lights and the rotating of the headlights help in increasing the visibility.
Backup Cameras
Backup cameras or as they are commonly known as reversing cameras or rear cameras are video cameras that are attached to the rear of the vehicle and connected to a screen on the dashboard. The cameras help in alleviating the blind spots that are usually at the back of a car when reversing. Most Novice drivers are not experienced enough to use the rare view mirrors appropriately when reversing. However, with the use of the rear cameras, they can be able to see the rear of the car and reverse properly.
The cameras can be traced back from the 1950’s. However, the idea was not conceptualized until recently in the millennium. Cars that are produced nowadays have very many features that obstruct the driver from a clear view in the back. The rearview mirror does not give the wide angle effect like the one given by the cameras. Additionally, nowadays cars are deeply tinted making it hard for the rear view. Many accidents are caused when reversing. Although most of them are minor, sometimes they can become fatal, especially when involving an inexperienced driver.
Most rear cameras are wide angle and sometimes subtle in size. They are usually mounted near the edge of the trunk lid and inclined at a downwards angle. They are connected to a screen on the dashboard and to the gearshift. When the gearshift is placed in the reverse, the camera automatically turns on, and the screen on the dashboard displays the rear view. Sometimes the screen can be mounted at the position of the rearview mirror. Recently there has been the technology where there are several cameras mounted at the back of the vehicle to give a more enhanced rearview.
Blind-spot Warning Systems
Blind spots can be defined as areas outside the vehicle that a driver cannot see clearly. They can be caused by any object on the road or in any driving area. Sometimes they may appear relatively small in proximity but they may be huge further away. The space between the driver peripheral vision and the view of the rearview camera is a very big blind spot that is capable of swallowing the whole car. Experienced drivers can be able to navigate through blind spots, but they become very challenging for novice drivers.
The side mirrors together with the rearview mirror are commonly used to navigate through the blind spots. However, they leave big dead areas on the side of the vehicle. Some drivers have tried to use convex mirrors that are mounted on the side mirrors to access areas that are perceived to be blind spots. The convex mirrors sometimes provide images that are distorted making it hard to judge and calculate the distances and blind spots apparently. In some areas, it is illegal to install the convex blind spot mirrors.
The best solution for the blind spot challenge is the use of blind spot detection systems. The systems use various cameras that can help the driver access the information of objects that are out of his/her range. The cameras can be mounted on any side of the vehicles that gives the driver the view of the side of the car. The rear camera discussed above also helps in navigating the rear blind spots. The systems also have sensors that detect objects and other information at the blind spots of the driver. The sensors alert the driver in various ways about the information on the blind spot. Interestingly, some systems can differentiate the size of the obstacles presented the blind spot. Additionally, there are those that display a warning sign at the corner of the side mirror or the rearview mirror.
Lane Departure Warning Systems
Lane departure warning systems are mechanisms installed in vehicles to warn the drivers if the car starts to move of its lane (Le & Chen, 2016). Head on corrosion occurs when one driver is in the wrong lane. The driver might move from their lane due to distractions, drowsiness, and drunkenness. The systems are meant to minimize some of the above causes. There are two main types of these systems that include systems that just warn the driver if the vehicles leave its lanes known and the lane departure warning (LDW) and the system that alerts the driver and automatically takes the necessary action if the driver takes no action referred to as the lane keep assist (LKS). The LDW was the first to be developed but evolved into LKS over time. The systems are good enough to keep the car...