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Monday, December 1, 1997 Published at 11:35 GMT
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Sci/Tech
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Green light for safe driving
image: [ Red alert, this driver is too close to the simulated car ahead. ]
Red alert, this driver is too close to the simulated car ahead.

Every day 10 people die and hundreds are injured in crashes on Britain's roads, often when drivers do not realise they're driving badly.


[ image: 10 people are killed every day]
10 people are killed every day
Now a team of engineers at Leeds University has come up with an invention which its claimed could make Britain's roads safer.

The unit will sit on car dashboards and use LED lights to tell drivers if they are driving unsafely. Red, as usual means danger, green means you are safe.

Dr Nicholas Ward who is part of the team developing the unit says it will help experienced drivers who are not used to analysing road situations.


[ image: Dr Ward hopes to make Britain's roads safer]
Dr Ward hopes to make Britain's roads safer
"Dangerous situations aren't that common in driving, so it takes you quite a few years to accumulate experience with hazards. This accelerates that by giving you an information display about how much risk is present even before an actual hazard is encountered. So you're giving more feedback to the driver about their behaviour."

The research is being sponsored by the Nissan car company, and the units could be fitted to all new cars within years. The developers say the units could also be fitted to driving school fleets to offer learner drivers some tips on how to handle vehicles safely.



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