New Technology Looks To Drunk Driver-Proof Vehicles Within 5 Years
Source: washington.cbslocal.com
Newly unveiled technology will hope to one day stop drunk drivers in their tracks.
The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety is "a research partnership between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and an industry consortium to develop technology to prevent alcohol-impaired drivers from operating their vehicles while under the influence," according to a DADSS press release.
Two prototypes were displayed Thursday during a press event at the Department of Transportation. The breath-based system pulls the driver’s breath into a sensor where a beam of infrared light is directed at molecules in the breath. The sensor can compare carbon dioxide and alcohol molecules, and if the alcohol molecules are above a certain proportion of carbon dioxide, the vehicle won’t start.
The other is a touch-based technology that reads blood-alcohol below the skin’s surface. Touch sensors shine a light onto the finger, which helps detect the level of alcohol in the driver’s blood.
“The alcohol detection system will measure the alcohol in a driver’s blood in less than a second. If it is above .08, the legal limit in all 50 states, the vehicle won’t move,” the technology overview video says. “For drivers under 21, for whom any amount of blood alcohol is illegal, the system can be programmed for a zero-tolerance policy.”
“This is a perfect example of why we at DOT are bullish on technology,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “Education, awareness and enforcement have succeeded in dramatically reducing drunk driving fatalities, but the advanced technology of DADSS brings enormous potential to save even more lives.”
The NHTSA and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety have been collaborating on the research since 2008.
“There is still a great deal of work to do, but support from Congress and industry has helped us achieve key research and development milestones,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said. “DADSS has enormous potential to prevent drunk driving in specific populations such as teen drivers and commercial fleets, and making it an option available to vehicle owners would provide a powerful new tool in the battle against drunk driving deaths.”
They are hoping to have this technology in vehicles within the next five years.
“Public-private research partnerships like DADSS have led to innovations that enhance our everyday lives, such as the Internet, GPS and the microchip. Now we have our sights set on inventing a world without drunk driving,” Rob Strassburger, president and CEO of ACTS, said. “There’s more work to be done, but through this broad coalition of support, we are driven to successfully complete this life-saving technology.”
More than 10,000 people lost their lives to drunk driving in 2013.
Source: washington.cbslocal.com
