Motoring
52
EDITION 681 :: 02/11/2012 - 15/11/2012 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS
Avoid danger
Motoring News >>
Microsleep kills
Juke R
Real and Virtual
F
atigue is one of the
main causes of serious
accidents.
Microsleep is the term given
to those moments of nodding
off, usually due to extreme
tiredness, which can be for just
a fraction of a second, or up to
30 seconds long.
It’s a scary thought, that people can be asleep for half a minute whilst at the wheel, possibly
doing very fast speeds indeed.
But it happens, and probably
more often than the general
public realises.
Luckily, manufacturers are
well aware of how common it is
and researchers have long been
looking into ways of combating
it. It has been noted that severe
fatigue can be associated with
characteristic steering movements: lowering concentration
levels and tiredness compromise the driver’s steering behavior and response time. Fine
motor skills deteriorate, steering
becomes less precise and the
driver corrects small steering
mistakes more often. It is this
that the Bosch Driver Drowsi-
ness Detection unit counts on.
It is based on an algorithm
which begins recording the
driver’s steering behavior the
moment the trip begins. It then
recognises changes over the
course of long journeys, and
thus also the driver’s level of
fatigue. Typical signs are phases during which the driver is
barely steering, combined with
slight, yet quick and abrupt
steering movements to keep
the car on track.
First introduced as a standard
feature in 2010, in the Volkswagen Passat, the system monitors
these steering movements by
information provided either by
the car’s electric power steering
system, or by the steering angle
sensor, which is part of the ESP®
anti-skid system. The feature
can therefore be installed costeffectively and helps further increase road safety.
When the typical fatigue-induced movements are detect-
ed, the system will advise the
driver to take a break by way of
a flashing icon, such as a coffee
cup, but whether they take notice or not is a different matter.
The best safety method, of
course, is to avoid driving long
distance when you are very
tired or, if that isn’t possible,
make sure that you have regular breaks where you actually
stop the car and get out into
the fresh air and stretch your
legs.
Beetle
Modern nostalgia
A
breath of fresh air will
soon be blowing in the
open-top car market,
created by the new Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet.
About to appear on the
world market any day now, the
car represents the next chapter
in a unique automotive story.
The original Beetle Convertible
(type 15) was first launched in
1949, followed much later by
the 2002 model. This new version marks the third generation
of the curvaceous Volkswagen
soft-top and the car’s unmistakable silhouette now has a sportier and more dynamic look.
The new model also incorporates aspects from the modern
€
20
* IGIC included
with the emotional legacy of
the car’s forefather.
The compact instrument
panel with an extra large round
instrument cluster and several
nostalgic elements, such as the
additional glove box, create a
ONLY
2003, ITV 09.2012, blue metallic,
CD radio, central locking system
with remote key, electric windows,
Tel. 690 229 216, € 4,900.00
€
35
Honda
Women’s choice
The Honda Civic was recently chosen for an award by the
Women’s World Car of the Year committee.
The car came out on top in the Economy Car category, with
second and third places going to the Volkswagen UP and Ford
Fiesta respectively.
The Civic was selected from an initial entry list of 300 cars
which were nominated by 20 women judges from 11 countries
around the world. The judging panel assessed the Civic according to the criteria women consider when buying a car, including
safety, value for money, aesthetic appearance, storage space,
ease of driving, environmental footprint and child friendliness.
2003
Only 19,000 kms, silver/blue
with white roof, aluminium
wheels, excellent condition,
ITV 2013, Call to view
2 Modules
*
producing 545bhp from
its 3.8 litre twin-turbo V6
engine. Thrilling performance is guaranteed, with
0-100 km/ph estimated to
take only 3.0 seconds, and
with a maximum speed of
273 km/ph.
But don’t despair if you
can’t afford a designer car:
the Juke-R has also been
digitally converted for use in
the virtual world. It will star
alongside the Juke NISMO
in the Gameloft Asphalt 7:
Heat mobile racing game,
where everyone who wants
to will get a chance to try it
out.
Sell your car with us!
SUZUKI VITARA SOFT TOP 1.6L
OPEL COMBO-C VAN 1.6L
1 Module
ONLY
Volkswagen line-up: the air inlet under the bumper, the flat
contour of the hood’s bottom
edge and in particular the tail
lights show the car’s close family ties. In fact, it nicely brings
together modern technology
markedly different interior design. Whilst the traditional soft
top which, when open, lies very
flat, enables good vision to the
rear and opens and closes automatically within around 10 seconds, including on the move.
To provide added safety in
the event of a rollover accident,
Volkswagen has developed
an active protection system. If
the car rolls over, two extendable modules fitted behind the
back of the rear bench seat are
activated via the central airbag
triggering unit. Along with the
fixed A-pillars, they provide effective protection for the occupants of all four seats, within a
matter of milliseconds. Good
work.
The first road-going
Juke-R is about to hit the
market.
Following phenomenal
interest, the car made the
leap into the real world after
first being shown as a oneoff concept in January of
this year.
After its debut in Dubai
it became a YouTube sensation and Nissan could
not resist turning it into
a limited edition model.
Thanks to the expertise of
the company’s Technical
Centre Europe the production version is more powerful than the concept,
*
 922 372 409
€ 3,750.00
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