- Toyota is adding a wrong-way driving alert to its optional navigation systems sold in Japan starting tomorrow, with the technology expected to make its way to the U.S. at some point.
- Drivers will get a visual on-screen warning that they are going the wrong way, as well as a voice alert that tells them “you may be traveling against the flow of traffic.”
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that wrong-way accidents on U.S. freeways are “an important public safety issue.”
TOYOTA CITY, Japan — Toyota is adding a wrong-way driving alert to its optional navigation systems sold in Japan starting tomorrow, with the technology expected to make its way to the U.S. at some point.
Drivers will get a visual on-screen warning that they are going the wrong way, as well as a voice alert that tells them “you may be traveling against the flow of traffic. Please check your direction of travel.”
Toyota said in a statement that the new function was made possible by “advances in communications-based map-updating technology and in pinpoint position-recognition technology that uses information from GPS, gyro sensors that identify vehicle direction, and other sensors to determine accurate vehicle movement.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that wrong-way accidents on U.S. freeways are “an important public safety issue” that is “complicated” to solve.
“A check of the driving records of typical wrong-way drivers indicate that they have received more traffic violations and felony convictions and have been involved in considerably more accidents of all types than the average motorist,” according to NHTSA data on its Web site. “The majority of wrong-way drivers were male. Another complicating characteristic is that many make intentional U-turns on freeways — they do not enter via an off-ramp. Nearly half of the wrong-way crashes are caused by U-turns and half from wrong-way entries via off-ramps.”
California tried adding horns and flashing red lights over wrong-way signs, but “these were found to be ineffective and drew complaints from neighbors,” noted NHTSA. Georgia has tested a pump-up device that presents a physical curb-like barrier to the wrong-way driver, but it also was found “unsuitable,” said NHTSA.
Inside Line says: Toyota tries to solve one of the toughest safety problems with a new wrong-way alert, but will drivers just tune it out? — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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