Smartphones and tablets are often thought of as driver distractions in cars, but could a new application actually help prevent accidents and save lives?
Anti Sleep Pilot, an automotive technology company in Denmark, released an app for iPhones and iPads that monitors driver alertness and calculates when a driver is too drowsy to drive. Its goal is to keep drivers alert by breaking the monotony of driving and encouraging drivers to pull the car over when the app determines that it's time to take a break.
The app works by establishing your driving risk profile based on a series of 12 questions about yourself and your work and sleep schedule. Before each trip, you use the app to calculate your alertness through a questionnaire. The trip destination is also entered so the safety tool can factor driving duration into the equation.
Anti Sleep Pilot measures driver alertness through a series of interactive light and sound tests based on how quickly you can tap the screen when prompted. Using the risk profile, trip duration, and response time information, the app calculates when you should pull over and take a break.
The company also released a standalone gadget at CES 2011. The $19.99 iPhone and iPad app is the second product from the company started by Troels Palshof, who was involved in a drowsy driving accident and decided to find a way to help drivers stay alert behind the wheel. Fatigue-related accidents are responsible for 25 percent of all fatal and 40 percent of all single-vehicle traffic accidents, according to the company.