Government officials have given a tentative thumbs up to a new
technology for cars that would render the concept of driving while drunk
a non-starter — literally.
On Friday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and David
Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
were on hand when researchers publicly demonstrated a car-embeddable
sensor system that cleverly locks down the engine if it detects that the
driver’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit.
Through the use of strategically placed sensors in places like the
steering wheel and door locks, the North America Driver Alcohol
Detection Systems for Safety, created by QinetiQ, a research facility in
Waltham, Massachusetts, would analyze a driver’s skin or breath to
determine a driver’s level of intoxication.The system is being promoted as an alternative to alcohol ignition
interlock systems that force drivers to blow into a breathalyzer type
device before the car can be started. The cumbersome ignition systems
are sometimes used by drivers as part of a DUI conviction.After the demonstration, Strickland and LaHood gave a positive, yet cautious, assessment of the technology:
The technology is “another arrow in our automotive safety
quiver,” said LaHood, who emphasized the system was envisioned as
optional equipment in future cars and voluntary for auto manufacturers.David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, also attended the demonstration and estimated the
technology could prevent as many as 9,000 fatal alcohol-related crashes a
year in the U.S., though he also acknowledged that it was still in its
early testing stages and might not be commercially available for 8-10
years.
And since the system will likely fall under the optional category for
automakers, the technology must prove itself to be reliable enough to
not mistakenly prevent the more sober folks from starting their cars to
have any hope of being adopted by the masses.
The systems would not be employed unless they are “seamless,
unobtrusive and unfailingly accurate,” Strickland told the Associated
Press.
A test showed that a 20-something year-old woman weighing 120 pounds
had a blood alcohol content level of .06, just below the legal limit of
.08, after drinking two 1 1/2 ounce glasses of vodka and orange juice
about a half hour apart.
Even if the technology is perfected, it’ll still be a tough sell.
Freedom and the means to move about freely are cherished American
values. So my guess is that there are very few people who would readily
embrace the technology because of the off-chance that a slight
malfunction would cause them to be late or, at worst, stuck somewhere.
But with an increasingly greater awareness of the dangers of drunk
driving, the promise of such a system shows that technological solutions
are in place should the tide turn.
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