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Arthur T Knackerbracket suggests a story from Phys.org:

Any driver operating a steering wheel all alone who has gone into a "microsleep" and survived to tell the story knows how frightening that can be.

According to a news release from Hoffmann + Krippner on AB Newswire, "Traffic experts claim that about 25 percent of all accidents are caused by extreme fatigue while driving. This makes nodding-off, also referred to as 'micro-sleep,' in combination with heart attacks, as the leading cause of accidents, exceeding the number of accidents caused by alcohol and drugs."

The challenge for technologists is to come up with a system that can safely act faster than the victim's microsleep state or, if a victim has a medical condition that incapacitates the person, can support a safe-stop outcome.

News of a thin strip of sensors inserted beneath the wheel's covering is attracting interest as a way to smarten the steering wheel to recognize drowsy or incapacitated drivers. A steering wheel add-on to this effect has been developed by Hoffmann + Krippner, an engineering firm based in Germany, along with Guttersberg Consulting.

This technology can measure sensitivity in addition to position. The technology is called SensoFoil, thin-film membrane potentiometers that act as reliable membrane position sensors. The operator during normal driving constantly moves hands on the wheel, changing pressure as fingers grip the wheel. Using SensoFoil inside the steering wheel, the vehicle can sense if the operator has fallen asleep with hands on the wheel or if hands are no longer on the wheel. This can trigger the safety protocol, either to wake up the driver or implement corrective measures.