This vehicular prototype device is not only your whip, but also your guardian angel. The technology we’re talking about is a cool detection system that uses an automatic sensor to gauge a driver’s alcohol level before starting. If your alcohol level is too high, the car simply will not drive.
According to the Center for Disease Control, 32 people die in alcohol-related accidents every day, making an "alcohol-detecting" car extremely appealing to the U.S. Transportation department.
In a visit with QinetiQ North America, the creators of the technology, U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood showed public interest in such technology. The measure called the Driver Alcohol Detection Systems (or…DADS?) will measure the driver’s blood alcohol level, and if it’s above .08 the smart car won’t start.
Although similiar technology already exists, the current judge-ordered bulky tech requires the driver blow into a large tube before starting a vehicle.
This particular version of the technology is designed to be super sensitive and therefore less obtrusive, making it more appealing for major car manufacturers.
The device will analyze the blood alcohol content by analyzing the driver’s breath or skin using touch-based sensors placed on the steering wheel and door locks.
David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, estimated such technology could prevent as many as 9,000 fatal alcohol-related crashes a year in the U.S.
So far the program has received $10 million in research money from the NHTSA and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety.
But some critics argue that the system could never be 100% accurate. Sarah Longwell of the American Beverage Institute said, "Even if the technology is 99.9 percent reliable, that's still tens of thousands of cars that won't start every day.
"It's going to eliminate the ability of people to have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer at a ball game and then drive home, something that is perfectly safe and currently legal in all 50 states."
On the other hand, Laura Dean Mooney, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the system could "turn cars into the cure."
Sadly, the anti-drunk driving tech won't available for at least 8-10 years.
SOURCE
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Will technology stop drunk drivers?
Senator Sherrod Brown and others believe it can.
Cleveland) - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio is calling for passage of the Roads Safe Act.
The measure would fund a program to create a device that would prevent intoxicated motorists from being able to start a vehicle.
Speaking at Cleveland Police headquarters, Brown explained the bill would authorize $12 million in annual funding for five years for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program.
He says the funding would be provided through money that the federal government has already appropriated for road safety initiatives, rendering the bill cost-neutral.
Supporting the legislation is Julie Leggett, the executive director of the northeast Ohio chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Leggett contends drunk driving has reached epidemic proportions in Ohio, with 122-thousand drivers on state roads with 3 or more DUI's, the third worst record in the nation.
Leggett doesn't feel it will be difficult to create technology that prevents a car from starting when its driver is intoxicated.
Also supporting the bill is Oxford Township firefighter Steve Westcott, who helped Erie County police apprehend a driver who is now facing his 11th DUI.
Westcott says he has seen the effects of drunk driving first hand as a first responder. He feels $12 million is a small price to pay for potentially saving many lives.
Brown claims existing devices, such as ignition locks, can be expensive and obtrusive. The main goal of the legislation is to make the new device smaller and less noticeable, so that parents could choose to install it in the car of their high school- or college-age child.
He maintains the legislation does not require this technology to be installed in any car, but would give families and law enforcement a new means of combating drunk driving.
Previous versions of the bill were supported by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Distilled Spirits Council, General Motors, and Nationwide Insurance.
SOURCE
Cleveland) - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio is calling for passage of the Roads Safe Act.
The measure would fund a program to create a device that would prevent intoxicated motorists from being able to start a vehicle.
Speaking at Cleveland Police headquarters, Brown explained the bill would authorize $12 million in annual funding for five years for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program.
He says the funding would be provided through money that the federal government has already appropriated for road safety initiatives, rendering the bill cost-neutral.
Supporting the legislation is Julie Leggett, the executive director of the northeast Ohio chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Leggett contends drunk driving has reached epidemic proportions in Ohio, with 122-thousand drivers on state roads with 3 or more DUI's, the third worst record in the nation.
Leggett doesn't feel it will be difficult to create technology that prevents a car from starting when its driver is intoxicated.
Also supporting the bill is Oxford Township firefighter Steve Westcott, who helped Erie County police apprehend a driver who is now facing his 11th DUI.
Westcott says he has seen the effects of drunk driving first hand as a first responder. He feels $12 million is a small price to pay for potentially saving many lives.
Brown claims existing devices, such as ignition locks, can be expensive and obtrusive. The main goal of the legislation is to make the new device smaller and less noticeable, so that parents could choose to install it in the car of their high school- or college-age child.
He maintains the legislation does not require this technology to be installed in any car, but would give families and law enforcement a new means of combating drunk driving.
Previous versions of the bill were supported by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Distilled Spirits Council, General Motors, and Nationwide Insurance.
SOURCE
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