App alerts drivers when approaching other vehicles at dangerous speeds

The Safety Sight app warns motorists if they need to slow down to avoid a collision with the vehicle in front of them.

Platforms that enable vehicles to interact with each other – such as the one being developed by researchers at Clemson University – have been in the works for a while and are expected to make driving even safer in future. Using smartphone technology available now, however, is the Safety Sight app, which warns motorists if they are heading too fast towards another vehicle. Developed as part of a collaboration between Sompo Japan and Nipponkoa insurance companies, the app uses the phone’s camera to analyze what is going on in front of the car when the device is placed in front of the windshield. The app separates vehicles from the other objects in the scene and determines their distance from the user’s car. If the car is moving too quickly towards the vehicle in front of them then the app emits a sound to warn the driver to slow down. For example, if the driver is travelling at 40 miles per hour, the alarm will sound if the speed is maintained at a distance of 16 meters from the vehicle ahead. In the event of a crash, the app will record video of the incident as well as how fast the vehicle was travelling. It also shows up local police numbers as well as contact details for the two insurance companies in the case of an accident. The app helps to make motorists more aware of the vehicles around them in real time in order to improve their driving. How else could technology make drivers more informed about their performance on the road? Spotted by: Raymond Neo