Distracted driving is an epidemic that makes us all want to move on to equally dangerous self-driving cars. But the Smart Wheel folks hope to change that with a smart steering wheel cover.
The device senses whether your hands are in a safe position on the wheel and delivers real-time reminders if needed. The device was on display at a party for the opening of the 2016 International CES, the big tech trade show in Las Vegas this week.
More than 424,000 people were injured in 2013 because of car accidents caused by distracted driving, according to a government study. Teens are four times as likely to get into a car accident as adult drivers. And they’ve grown up with more distractions, not least of which involves texting.
So New Hampshire-based Smart Wheel created a tool that was featured on the reality TV show Shark Tank. It was pilot tested at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and it has been endorsed by President Barack Obama, and the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood.
Smart Wheel is essentially a snap-on steering wheel cover that monitors whether your hands are on the wheel. It will be available in the U.S. in the middle of 2016 for $200. It sends an alert if you have one hand off the wheel for too long, if you have both hands off the wheel at all, or if your hands are too close together, suggesting you are holding a phone while driving. Used with an app, Smart Wheel can send a notification to a parent if the driver does something that triggers an alert. The device has an accelerometer that it uses to sense motion.
For better or worse, Smart Wheel can’t take your car keys away. Only your parents can do that.