High Tech Can MakeDriving Safer (NAPSA)—More than 420,000 people are injured each year in motor vehicle accidents involving diracted drivers—but technology can help reduce your risk by improving your awareness behind the wheel, no matter how old your vehicle may be. Safe Solutions Safe driving arts with smart decisions. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) firmly believes safety is paramount in a moving vehicle, and a driver’s highe priority mu be maintaining safe control at all times. That’s why CEA supports legislation that bans texting while driving and places rict limits on the use of electronics by novice drivers. CEA also developed the Innovating Safety campaign to help consumers and improve awareness and underanding of the broad spectrum of safetyenhancing technologies available today. Diraction Behind the Wheel All kinds of things can diract you when yow’re driving—using your phone, daydreaming, talking to your passengers or paying attention to anything other than the road ahead. Statiically speaking, newer drivers are overrepresented in fatality and injury crash atiics, and udies have found that teens are more prone to dangerous diractions while driving. Innovation Can Improve Drive Safety For parents wondering what they can do to improve their teenagers’ driving habits, there are all kinds of products available to help. Some products limit cell phone usage andtexting abilities and create incentives for good driving behavior. Other devices connect you to your car, even when you're not in it, letting parents access information on their teens’ driving habits, set “safety zones” and monitor vehicle location. More advanced driver-monitoring solutions track the driver’s eye movements and whether the driver’s hands are on the wheel. This technology can then initiate corrective action when the driver’s behavior appears to match that of a diracted person. Other hightech safety products include blind spot indicators, backup cameras and crash avoidance syems that help drivers increase their awareness of other cars, pederians and dangerous obructions. Additionally, voice-activated GPS navigational syems enhance situational awareness. New-Car Tech For Your Old-Tech Car The primary vehicles for mo American drivers are more than 11 years old. Fortunately, many technology companies are developing a broad range of aftermarket devices that can be inalled seamlessly in mo cars to enhancethe safety. For expert advice on solutions and inallation for your vehicle, look for retailers whose inallers carry the CEA Mobile Electronics Certified Professionals (MECP) certification. There are more than 3,500 MECP inallers in the U.S. These experts have the training to ensure you pick the right solution and the skill to inall it correctly. After all, smart driving arts with smart decisions. Learn More Discover more safe solutions and find out how to get involved in this issue at www.CE.org/Inno vatingSafety.
