Heart rate detection in cars? What's next, measuring my blood pressure with a torque wrench?

Just read this article about Toyota's heart rate detection patent. Seems like a stretch for a car feature, but I guess it's all about 'measuring' the driver's state. Kinda cool if it can prevent accidents when you're about to have a heart attack. What do you guys think? Too much tech or actually useful?

I dunno Rick, sounds like another thing to break. My old truck doesn't even have a working fuel gauge half the time. But I guess if it saves lives, maybe it's worth it. Wonder if it'll beep at you when your heart rate spikes from road rage lol.

Haha Greg, exactly what I was thinking! But seriously, I can see this being used for health monitoring on long drives. Combine it with lane keep and you got a semi-autonomous system for emergencies. But measuring tools in cars? That's a new frontier for sure.

As a safety inspector, I'm all for anything that reduces accidents. But this raises privacy concerns. Who has access to that heart rate data? And what about false positives? I wouldn't want my car pulling over because I'm excited about a podcast. Still, interesting tech.