Nissan gets serious about diesels and drinking

Nissan gets serious about diesels and drinking

At press conference held at its new campus Japan, Nissan outlined its plan for diesels and fighting drink-driving. Nissan engineers told the press about a new technology the auto maker plans to introduce in future cars to reduce the number of deaths caused by drinking.

“In Japan, we have a lot of road deaths due to drinking,” said Kazuhiro Doi, general manager of technology marketing at the Nissan Advanced Technology Centre.

As a part of Nissan’s “Trusted Driving Pleasure”, the third largest Japanese auto maker hopes to introduce a new feature that requires the driver to breath into a detector before starting the engine. When sensors on the driver’s head-rest and the gear stick detect alcohol, they relay a message on the dashboard telling the driver not to start the car.

Even if the driver passes the sensors, a camera monitors facial expressions that are taken as signs of drunkenness. If the car feels the driver is drunk it will tighten the safety belts and advise the driver to pull over.

As for the company’s diesel initiatives; unlike in Europe where diesels are popular, Japanese consumers don’t use much diesel. However the auto maker will introduce clean diesel technology with its M9R diesel engine which is in the Qashqai SUV in Europe.

 

Source: Reuters

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