Earlier this year, Debra Bezzina was piloting her Nissan Altima down Interstate 96 in Michigan. Reaching for a pack of gum in her pocket, she took her eyes from the road for a couple of seconds. All of a sudden, a voice, speaking with urgency, said, "Not, Not, Not." Yanking her attention back to the road, Bezzina realized that her car had started to drift across the solid white line to the right. She quickly corrected and went safely on her way.

Bezzina was grateful for the warning, but there was nobody in the car to thank. The alert had been generated by a device she was field-testing for an auto parts maker. The gadget was designed to warn drivers about road departures and lane shifting.

Although that warning system is still experimental, you will likely have something similar in the n…