If it's the exact system (seeing eyes guardian) that NXP use, it only records video and audio if an event is triggered. This gets sent to America, which is then sent back to the UK to whichever company you work for. They can only access the event and nothing else. It also vibrates the seat and sounds an alarm.
The cost of fitting will be huge, then? New driver's seat plus all the kit. Can't see many TOCs being overly keen in all honesty. Sounds like a solution looking for a problem.
Honestly, not sure on the cost sides of things. I know they have to be calibrated every so often too if from what I was told is correct. Issue with that is, everyone has different seating positions and facial structures. It can often lead to events being triggered. There's been plenty of times when I have been fully alert and it goes off for no reason making me jump. I find if you get that, it happens a fair few times and only in that vehicle. Meaning I am aware that the sensor is there and I force myself to make a point and look directly at it to appease it. Although, more often than not it is accurate.
Great, so a system that is designed to improve safety is actually another distraction from actually driving.
Dare I suggest that automatic braking if you're too close and lane departure warning aren't really necessary for trains?Yep, that's the same thing I mentioned above where the Passport Office site thought my eyes were closed when they definitely weren't. It's just the shape of my face - I have smallish eyes and they don't open very wide even if I've had 9 hours' sleep, 5 cups of coffee and a nasty shock!
Setting off alarms when nothing is wrong is incredibly distracting, too. You don't have to be asleep for it to make you jump, you could just be concentrating intently on the road! I think automatic braking if you're too close and lane departure warning is probably better, and most newer cars are fitted with this so it's not hard to do. (This plus speed limit warning is I guess a road sort of equivalent of TPWS, which I certainly support).
Yes but talk of road-specific features is drifting off topic.
Yes, the DSD & Dead Man's Switch will stop the train in the event of unconsciousness regardless of circumstances (after a certain period of time), AWS and TPWS guard against distraction at danger points (although will not prevent all accidents if the train is travelling significantly in excess of the required speed), while ATP/ETCS will, in theory, prevent the train ever travelling faster than it is safe to do so.
Indeed.
I was a nat ex driver until May, driving wasnt for me anymore. Lane departure warning used the same vibrations through the seat which could sometimes be fooled by temporary lanes that no longer exist
I will be starting with TfW as a guard in January, though. I can see it being useful, however it is inherently flawed...Was exactly our argument. A lot of drivers just gave the cameras the "bird." Slap on the wrist "please dont do it again, it goes to head office." But I think that goes to show what drivers thought of such tech...
As others have said, it will be the first step. Next they will be able to access via software in the office, then use it towards assessments.
I believe that it has been around for a while, believe Seeing Machines is an Australian company.
Regardless of how many accidents have been down to drivers, one is too many.
Between AWS, TPWS, TPWS+, ATP and vigilance, We have plenty of systems in place that have mitigated against fatigue realted accidents which is why there haven't been any.
Spot on.
Exactly why this guardian system isn't required!
So three drivers on here give our opinion and its a thumbs down. But some graduate somewhere dreams up these money wasting schemes and it will be foisted on us all at great expense to the taxpayer....
...and it will have zero effect on the actual train service but you can guarantee it will be used as another measure to discipline drivers. Just like everything that ever gets installed.
They don't listen to us
So why do ASLEF permit them to be driven?
They don't listen to us
There was a "SQUASH" campaign a long while ago, and a token 66 was fitted with some sort of cooling equipment (more of gesture to appease the unions) But it has died a death now.
