Researchers plan on using blue LEDs to keep sleepy drivers awake

Posted April 2, 2008 at 02:33 AM by David Gonzales

Section: Gadgets / Other, Miscellaneous, Transportation

Vehicular accidents due to sleepy drivers are a leading cause of death in the United States (or the world, for that matter). And it surprises me to know that not many people give thought or try to find ways to prevent such things from happening, even though the next person to doze off behind the wind shield could be them. But Mariana Figueiro and her colleagues at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York suggest that drivers take 30-minute blue light “baths” at truck stops and gas stations to keep them from falling asleep while driving. That would work, only you first have to find a way to build the blue LEDs in the cars to have the most efficient set up possible.

This suggestion is based on the knowledge that light has an indirect effect on our body’s internal clock. And research has found that short wavelengths have the strongest effect on people. That’s why Figueiro’s team is eager to find out how the body would be affected by blue LED light, in terms of alertness of people lacking sleep. When this concept materializes, I hope they remember this suggestion: build the blue LED lights on the tail lights of cars so that it beams directly to the driver right behind you, and would therefore keep him from falling asleep, just in case he felt sleepy.

Via [New Scientist]