Seeing Machines backs real-time driver impairment checks

Seeing Machines has published the second paper in its technical series on driver intoxication and impairment, arguing that driver monitoring systems should assess impairment in real time rather than rely on chemical thresholds alone.

It says road safety policy has long focused on deterrence through policing and public awareness, with blood alcohol concentration used as a proxy for crash risk. But while that approach can show the presence of a substance, it does not directly measure whether a driver is fit to drive at a given moment.

The paper distinguishes between intoxication and impairment. In its framing, intoxication is the presence of substances in the body, while impairment is the effect those substances have on functional ability and driving performance.

Seeing Machines says camera-based driver monitoring systems track visible signs of reduced driving ability, allowing them to measure the severity and progression of symptoms without depending on breath, saliva or sweat tests for specific substances.

That means the technology is designed to detect diminished driving fitness regardless of cause, including alcohol, drugs, fatigue or a combination of those factors. It argues this approach may also help address cases such as polydrug use, where several substances contribute to risk at the same time.

Functional state

The paper forms part of a broader argument from the Australian transport technology group that in-cabin monitoring should complement traditional enforcement rather than replace it. Roadside testing and legal thresholds remain useful deterrents, it says, but they do not provide a live assessment of a driver's condition while a vehicle is in use.

For carmakers and transport operators, the debate matters because regulators and industry are paying more attention to systems that detect distraction, drowsiness and reduced alertness inside the vehicle. Driver monitoring systems, which use cameras and software to assess a driver's eyes, face and behaviour, are becoming a larger part of vehicle safety design.

Seeing Machines develops vision-based monitoring technology for automotive, commercial fleet, off-road and aviation markets. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Australia, it operates across Australia, the US, Europe and Asia.

The second paper follows an earlier instalment that argued blood alcohol concentration is an insufficient benchmark for real-time impairment detection. Together, the papers set out the company's case for giving behavioural observation inside the vehicle a larger role in road safety systems.

Safety debate

The latest paper reflects a broader challenge for transport safety policy: chemical detection can establish whether a driver has consumed a substance, but it does not always show how that consumption affects driving ability at a specific point in time. The issue becomes more complex when fatigue, medication or multiple substances are involved.

Seeing Machines argues that a camera-based system can respond to that complexity by focusing on the driver's functional state in relation to the driving environment. By concentrating on observed behaviour rather than a single chemical marker, interventions can be aligned more closely with immediate crash risk, it says.

Dr Mike Lenné, the company's chief safety officer, outlined that position in the paper's release.

"Our second paper reinforces that effective in-cabin safety systems must focus on a driver's functional state, rather than identifying a specific chemical cause," said Dr Mike Lenné, Chief Safety Officer, Seeing Machines.

He said the company sees this as a broader safety measure that can capture more than one source of risk.

"By detecting the physical signs of impairment directly, camera-based DMS provides a versatile safety net, capturing risks arising from both substance and non-substance related causes, and complements existing roadside deterrence strategies," Lenné said.