Asleep at the Wheel? Not With Mercedes' Attention Assist
CARS.COM — Drowsy driving doesn’t grab headlines as much as distracted or drunken driving, but in our sleep-deprived society, it’s something that affects a lot of us. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s 2014 Traffic Safety Culture Index found that 96 percent of drivers think it’s unacceptable for someone to drive when they’re so sleepy that they have a hard time keeping their eyes open, yet 29 percent of drivers said they’d driven in this condition in the past 30 days.
Related: Follow These Tips To Avoid Drowsy Driving
Not unlike texting while driving and drunken driving, drowsy driving can lead to injury and death. In 2013, the latest year statistics were available, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 713 people died in crashes due to being behind the wheel when overly tired and 44,000 people were injured.
Automakers like Mercedes-Benz are responding with technology to warn drivers when they may be getting tired; Mercedes’ Attention Assist system is standard on our long-term 2015 C-Class sedan. Like airbags, it’s one of those safety features you hope you never need in a vehicle, and in the nearly four months we’ve been driving our C-Class, Attention Assist hasn’t caught us acting sleepy while behind the wheel of the vehicle. We have, however, heard the Mercedes Benz’ system’s insistent chime for other reasons.
Mercedes-Benz was one of the first automakers to offer drowsy-driver alert technology when it began offering Attention Assist on 2010 models. During the beginning of a trip, Attention Assist creates a profile of your behavior behind the wheel that’s then measured against how you drive during the remainder of the trip, according to Mercedes-Benz spokesman Christian Bokich.
If the system’s sensors detect behavior that’s consistent with driver fatigue, like making small, quick steering corrections and a lack of interaction with dashboard controls, it will chime loudly and display an alert in the gauge cluster. “It always goes off before I realize I’m tired,” Bokich said. In C-Class models with the optional navigation system, the dashboard screen will also show the nearest service stations and provide guidance to the one you pick.
The few times Mercedes’ Attention Assist system warned us was on a road trip back to Chicago from Iowa. While mile upon mile of barren farmland is enough to lull even the most alert driver, it was our editor’s abrupt steering measures to counter gusty crosswinds that triggered the vehicle’s sensors and led to the warning. The owner’s manual also lays out conditions when a warning may be delayed or not occur at all, like when operating the vehicle in areas with poor road conditions.
Whether your vehicle has a system like the Attention Assist system found in Mercedes-Benz vehicles or not, there are common-sense steps you can take to stay alert behind the wheel. The National Safety Council recommends a regular sleep schedule that lets you get enough rest as well as avoiding driving between midnight and 6 a.m. For long trips, breaks every 100 miles or two hours, cool cabin temperatures and an early start can help you stay alert during your drive.
Like other active safety features, Mercedes’ Attention Assist’s success hinges on the driver heeding the system’s warning. Some people will turn it off, thinking they know better, but I think many drivers will take an alert seriously and find a way to get reenergized. Our roads will be safer for it.
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