The great practical benefit of Lex Akehurst’s new car accessory makes an immediate impact. Indeed, it is almost too obvious to dispute. Fit one of these and next time you have a prang, there should be no quibbling over the blame.
That said, the other thought that hits almost simultaneously is the device’s massive voyeuristic potential. This reaction, however, elicits an immediate look of pursed-lipped disapproval.
“We don’t think that’s something we should focus on because that doesn’t promote health and safety,” she says sternly.
Still, as we huddle round her laptop to watch footage gathered by her product from American public service vehicles, she almost seems to shares my innocent delight at such nuggets of automobile mayhem.
“This one’s really good… well, it’s bad but it’s good,” she says, launching a clip of a bus sailing off a corner onto the roof of a parked BMW.
Another piece of footage shows a dreadlocked bus driver take a shifty glance around him before charging over a pavement into an adjacent street to complete an unorthodox u-turn.
“You’re not supposed to do that with a public-service vehicle. It’s really bad,” Akehurst tuts – before admitting, with a grin, “I sound like such a goody-two-shoes.”
The collection of hair-raising videos comes courtesy of DriveCam, a camera and “behaviour modification tool” developed two years ago in San Diego to fit neatly onto a car windscreen next to the rearview mirror.
From there it simultaneously records the road ahead and the interior of the vehicle with two 180-degree cameras. Their input is continuously recorded on a loop, with a ten-second memory.
Whenever an inbuilt gyroswitch detects a sudden movement, the incident is preserved for the benefit of insurers, fleet owners and rubbernecking ghouls like me.
The relevance of all this to Dubai probably needs little spelling out. However, just in case, Akehurst has some alarming records of her own experiences on Dubai’s roads.
One clip shows her juddering to a halt at a roundabout as a Sharjah-plated Landcruiser whips recklessly into her lane. The DriveCame records a negative g-force of 0.73 – almost enough to induce whiplash.
Clearly, any driver might relish the ability to record such an incident on a jpeg, zip it up and mail it off to the police with a closeup of a relevant number-plate. However, the principal targets for this technology are those managing commercial fleets.
Indeed, the fleet manager of the hotel where we meet confirms the commercial niche by reporting that the previous day his drivers had 11 accidents – the exact circumstances of each currently destined to retain a degree of mystery.
In addition, with its sensitive gyroscope and memory of up to 50 incidents a day, DriveCam offers the perfect means to check up on a driver’s technique. Akehurst suggests a system of rewards for those whose DriveCam is never triggered.
But her enthusiasm for DriveCam marries a sharp eye for a commercial opportunity with passionate personal conviction. After selling her technology company to Siemens, the 35-year-old Scotswoman moved into health and safety two years ago.
In the longer term she hopes to set up a Dubai branch of the UK’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to cover all safety issues – including building sites and swimming pools. Road safety should merely be the first outbreak of an intended epidemic of responsible behaviour.
Still, road transport is obviously especially near to her heart. “I come from a racing family and I’ve always been a speed freak. I’ve driven motorbikes. I’ve rallied. I’ve drag-raced. I’ve raced all kinds of cars, but on the road I always driven safely,” she says.
“I think Dubai is making a big mistake in just focussing on speed cameras. It’s about training and education,” she says.
Warming to her theme, she imagines an improbable world where Dubai discovers civility on the road and timid roadsters feel safe to venture forth. “A lot of female drivers are put off by the aggressive drivers on the road.
We need to encourage more women on the roads,” she says. Quite how far we have to go is suggested by another gem from her personal collection of DriveCam clips
As she drives along the Emirates Road, a black saloon savagely cuts her up forcing her into an unscheduled right turn towards Global Village.
Source: http://www.7days.ae/2006/04/27/video-set-to-nail-dodgy-drivers.html