Earlier this week, we wrote about the risks inexperienced teen drivers take simply by having other teens in the car. While distracted driving is certainly dangerous, there is another driving hazard we have all probably experienced: drowsy driving.

Fatigue contributes to an unacceptable number of motor vehicle accidents in Tennessee and across the U.S. annually. Auto manufacturers are currently exploring ways to reduce fatigue-related car accidents by developing new and exciting lane-keeping technology.

Ford plans on offering this new technology as an option on two of its 2012 models. However, the technology is still in its infancy and can only be relied on when specific road conditions are present. Nevertheless, the technological advance is a step in the right direction.

Currently, Ford's lane-keeping system is activated when the vehicle reaches speeds above 40 miles an hour. Once activated, a camera attached to the rearview mirror can sense when the car is veering from the lane that the vehicle is currently in.

If the turn signal has not been activated, the steering wheel will vibrate as a warning to the driver. If the car continues to veer, the vehicle will auto-correct to stay in the original lane.

A development engineer at Ford recently acknowledged that the technology is not yet perfect. Angles of sun and shadow, the presence of trees and other objects still affect the ability of the camera to respond consistently. These technological bugs and a need for additional research are some of the reasons why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has yet to endorse lane-keeping systems for the general public.

The director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford recently voiced concerns that "as vehicles are made safer, drivers may compensate by engaging in riskier behavior." It is hoped that as lane-keeping technology evolves, fatigue-related crashes will decrease, rather than increase as a result of motorists who actively get behind the wheel fatigued, confident that their car will keep them from harm.

Source: The New York Times, "Trying to nudge drowsy drivers," Randall Stross, Jan. 21, 2012