A Car That "Smells" Alcohol On Its Driver’s Breath?

Automobile technology is seeing some huge advancements over the last few years (GPS, auto breaking, etc) and, with self-driving cards coming in the near future, even biggest ones are just around the corner. One such item is an alcohol detection system that will stop drunk drivers from operating their cars.

Actually, researchers are developing two different systems.  One measures blood alcohol levels from a driver’s breath.  Sensors mounted on the steering wheel would assess the level of alcohol in the driver’s breath.   The second screens for alcohol when the driver touches the start button.  The button will measure the skin’s surface on a touch-pad with an infrared light scanner.

“This is the single best opportunity we have to save lives,” says Bud Zaouk, director of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS), a government-funded research organization.

Both systems are improvements over an interlock device in that they are not obtrusive and are passive in nature.  An interlock device (which is required to be used for six months for any motorist convicted of Driving While Intoxicated in New York State) is intrusive, embarrassing and requires the driver to periodically blow into a tube.

Roughly 10,000 people die in drunken-driving related accidents each year,   We, therefore, welcome this new technology and hope it becomes mandatory on all cars in the near future.   Meanwhile, reminder, DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!!