Safety feature in Nissan alerts drowsy, distracted drivers

Washington: Nissan introduced a new drowsiness-detection feature that alerts you if you are not paying attention to the road or falling asleep at the wheel.

The system, which can learn motorists' driving habits and monitors how they handle the steering wheel in just several minutes, makes a sound after an alert pops up on the dashboard if strange and unusual movements or lack of movements are being made, the Mashable reported.

On detecting strange behaviors, the system, which will be included in the 2015 Nissan Murano and the just-announced 2016 Nissan Maxima four-door sports car, will push out an amber-colored "Take a Break?" notification featuring a coffee cup icon onto the user's dashboard.

Nissan, whose latest move is a part of a larger effort across the auto industry to add high-tech safety features to cars, is also experimenting with other features, including geo-fencing technology, which knows when a teenager goes out of driving range if parents set limits on how far they can travel.