Road safety is of utmost importance throughout the world, although some people might say that the French certainly drive in a…er, more free spirited manner than the rest of the world. Japan is notorious for their safety, and it is no surprise to see Nissan of Japan currently hard at work developing and employing technologies to increase the safety of their vehicles in order to lower the rates of mortality on the road. One of the areas that Nissan is paying particularly close attention to are new methods to combat drunk driving while minimizing the impact of accidents in order to make the driving experience safer for both the driver and pedestrian.

One of these improvements include a modified car hood that will be attached to several new models from this fall onwards. The Pop-Up Engine Hood features a sensor located in the front bumper that allows the car to know whether it has hit a pedestrian or not. Should the sensor judge whether the impact is severe enough, the system will automatically open the hood by a few centimeters in order to create a cushioning space between the unfortunate pedestrian to prevent any impact with the metal and engine located just below the hood. This is one of the more notable improvements, while other safety systems are still in their infancy and will take many more years before they are implemented in cars on the road.

In another move, Nissan has also developed an alcohol detection system that utilizes sensors within the seats and gear shift stick combined with a transmission lock. Whenever a critical level of alcohol is registered in the sweat that permeates from the driver’s palm by the gear stick, the car won’t be able to start - unless, of course, another driver is there to start the car. I wonder what happens during the cold winter months where people wear gloves while driving? Anyway, there is also a driving behavior monitor that will issue an audio alert whenever the driving is erratic, while the seat belt tightens automatically to snap the driver back into reality. Pretty neat huh? Just remember to bring along a designated driver the next time you want to get smashed celebrating your pay raise.

Source: Digital World Tokyo