Saying that, "We are on the cusp of being able to eliminate the deaths and injuries caused by alcohol-impaired driving for generations to come," an executive from the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety touted the development of a next-phase alcohol-detection system in cars last week when speaking at a U.S. Senate field hearing in New Mexico.
Susan Ferguson, a program manager with the coalition, which is working in tandem with the NHTSA on an anti-drunk driving project, endorsed along with others new technology still in its relative infancy that would largely supplant the use of ignition interlock devices in cars. Those devices -- which are often in play in Georgia for drivers convicted of a second or subsequent DUI offense -- prevent vehicles from starting if they detect alcohol in the breath of a motorist (i.e., a would-be motorist) after he or she blows into the device.
The new system -- called driver alcohol detection system for safety ("DADSS") -- is contemplated as an option on new cars. It is anticipated to be sufficiently sophisticated to detect a driver's precise blood-alcohol content ("BAC") through touch on the steering wheel or through breath. Like an interlock device, it will not allow a car to start if the driver BAC is at a certain point.
The new technology has bipartisan political support. U.S. Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) are co-sponsoring a bill to allow for millions of dollars of funding on additional DADSS research.
Related Resource: ABQ Journal, "Feds Studying Alcohol Detector as Vehicle Option" Aug. 11, 2011
