Article Categories

»	Arts & Entertainment
»	Automotive
»	Business
»	Careers & Jobs
»	Education & Reference
»	Finance
»	Food & Drink
»	Health & Fitness
»	Home & Family
»	Internet & Online Businesses
»	Miscellaneous
»	Self Improvement
»	Shopping
»	Society & News
»	Sports & Recreation
»	Technology
»	Travel & Leisure
»	Writing & Speaking

Reprint Article Code

Category: Articles » Automotive » Cars » Article » Article Code

Fatigue at the Wheel: Root of Serious Traffic Accidents

Last year in Germany, the police authorities reported a total of 3034 accidents triggered by fatigue, including 1786 collisions resulting in personal injury. This equates to about 0.5 percent of all serious accidents. Nonetheless, safety experts believe that the figure is much higher. This is because at the present time it is difficult to verify signs of fatigue by the time accidents are reconstructed. Scientific studies revealed that between 10 and 20 percent of traffic accidents is caused by drowsiness. According to investigations conducted by insurance companies in said territory, 1 out of 4 fatal motorway accidents are ... read more

Article Title:

Article Body:

Last year in Germany, the police authorities reported a total of 3034 accidents triggered by fatigue, including 1786 collisions resulting in personal injury. This equates to about 0.5 percent of all serious accidents. Nonetheless, safety experts believe that the figure is much higher. This is because at the present time it is difficult to verify signs of fatigue by the time accidents are reconstructed.
 
Scientific studies revealed that between 10 and 20 percent of traffic accidents is caused by drowsiness. According to investigations conducted by insurance companies in said territory, 1 out of 4 fatal motorway accidents are caused by fatigue. Further, the probability of being killed in a road accident due to fatigue is 2.5 times higher than for other causes.
 
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in the United States, over 100,000 accidents are caused by driver fatigue. Out of which, 1500 people are killed and 71,000 are injured.
 
In Canada, a study about fatigue at the wheel established that 1 out of 5 has at some time nodded off while driving. Finding also showed that two thirds of fatigue-induced accidents occur during nighttime. Majority of incidents occur in the early hours of the morning between 2 and 6. They can also occur in the middle of the afternoon.
 
Moreover, safety experts employed by automakers are concentrating on improving safety features of their lineup. According to automotive reports one of the major causes of serious traffic accidents is – over-fatigue. Moreover, safety experts are trying to develop a system that recognizes fatigue to warn the driver. This system will be integrated to automobiles to be accessible to drivers.
 
Engineers from the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre also conducted several studies and testing regarding this potent auto system. Said engineers have tested more than 200 motorists on motorways and in the driving simulator. This system is expected to be released in a few years' time. 
 
In order to obtain objective indicators of fatigue, Mercedes safety experts employed electroencephalogram (EEG) and other physiological readings. Another method used is the analysis of dynamic driving data.
 
Mercedes assistance systems will be mated to <a href="http://www.fastbodyparts.com/parts/mercedes_benz/">Mercedes-Benz car parts</a> to avoid real-life accident scenarios. Today, Mercedes safety systems like Electronic Stability Program and Brake Assist, have contributed significantly to the reduction of serious road accident.
 
According to studies, many motorists are actually able to recognize when they are tired, but by then it is often too late. Moreover, safety experts recommend that drivers should take a break when they are tired to avoid road accidents.

Author Bio:

Some other recently published cars articles

Mariner Receives Upgrade for 2008 Model Year by Glady Reign
In the competitive world of the automotive industry, car manufacturers have to be on their toes all the time. They always have to come up with helpful and really cool innovations for their vehicles so ...

Camry Hybrid 50th Anniversary Edition to hit Showrooms in March by Glady Reign
Toyota has been successfully doing business in the US for almost 50 years. In connection with their celebration of their 50th year of operations in the United States auto jungle, they will ...

Lean Business System Key to Toyota's Success by Glady Reign
Toyota has been enjoying much success in the automotive industry. In fact, they are already poised to take over General Motors' spot as the world's largest ...

The Ford F-350: A Heavy Duty Vehicle by Glady Reign
Ford has always been known to produce large trucks. In fact, their F150 pickup truck is the best selling truck of all time. But the F150 is not the only great truck ...

Ultra Cool Audi R8 to Be Auctioned To Benefit Fight against AIDS by Glady Reign
In September last year, Audi has introduced to the public the production version of the Audi R8. And from that time, the release of the R8 has been anticipated much ...

Kumho to Supply Tires for DaimlerChrysler AG by Glady Reign
South Korea's Kumho Tires has set their sights on the OE business and it seems that they have started to achiever their goal. Kumho's improving standing in the global market ...

Publisher Guidelines

You may reprint this article electronically in your newsletter or on your website, free of charge.

If you reprint this article from our site, then you must keep everything intact. This includes the articles title, author name, articles body, authors bio / resource box, the links contained within the article, all copyright notices and the link pointing back to our site. All links within the article must also be made active / hyperlinks.