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Comment by willvarfar | Hacker News Reader

My normal no-extras VW Golf does detect when I'm drowsy and suggest a coffee break. I am guessing it is sensing my steering movements.

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I hadn't heard of this, their glossary says "evaluates steering wheel movements" - do you have any better explanation of it's detection mechanism?

I'm guessing it looks for sudden adjustments to stay in lane after micro-sleeps.

I have tried to reverse-engineer it, but not worked it out yet. It seems to work though.

In Sweden you can make long journeys on fairly straight roads through forest meeting only the occasional other vehicle, very rarely seeing a pedestrian, and mostly keeping an eye out for movement between the trees that may be a deer or elk or boar about to run out in front of you.

Deer make small dents, badgers are like hitting stones, wild pigs can write off the car and elk are absolutely lethal. You actually get taught that, if a collision is inevitable, to aim for the hind legs to maximize your chances of survival.

Must be much the same in much of the USA, Canada, Russia etc.

There used to be a lot of bumper stickers that said "I brake for xxx" of varying seriousness.

Then there is the "Brake for Moose". It's not a choice, it's a warning.

The Canadian Priest who baptized my cousin was decapitated when he drove his small car under a moose. They are truly massive animals.

Wildlife are definitely a danger for drivers in the more remote parts of the U.S. Personally, I survived an elk collision unscathed, and with minimal damage to my car because she was trying to jump down from a cut in the side of a mountain. She put a dent in my roof and smashed the windshield and one of the rear windows. On a level road I doubt it would have been a survivable crash. Elk are very large animals.

> detect when I'm drowsy

I think most people wouldn't be allowed to drive first thing in the morning commute to work and after 10 hours working on the drive home if this was enforced!

Exactly. And that’s a good thing, not a bad thing – unsafe drivers, especially in the morning or evening commute, are the main reason for negligent manslaughter (commonly called "car accident with death") on streets.

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