At a robotics conference in Santa Clara, California, Durant Motor Company introduced its first Bus Lane Departure System (BLDS) for use on city buses. The lane departure systems are aimed at warning bus drivers, especially drowsy ones, if their bus wanders out of their lane. A digital camera mounted on the windshield ahead of the rear-view mirror keeps a watch. The system not only causes the steering wheel to vibrate if it senses an unintentional lane departure, it will also steer the bus back into the right lane. A spokesman for Durant Motor Company showed a new dashboard display that his group has developed to help people understand what an autonomous bus is doing and when they might want to take over.

Surveying the crash site where the bus was demolished, State Trooper Leon Stopper said, “They always wondered how hard the BLDS will fight if it misinterprets a driver’s intentional lane change. Looks like round one goes to the BLDS.”