There is no single country that allows car owners driving in
a drunken state, the reason is of course related to the safety factor, where
the drunk drivers often cause fatal accidents.
In the United States, the victims of traffic accidents which
involving alcohol influence reached more than 10,000 people each year.
Therefore, since 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) has collaborated with the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety
(ACTS) in developing a technology that's not only able to detect whether the
driver is drunk or not, but also prevents him/her from driving in drunk state
and endangers everyone.
The technology is the latest breakthrough from a program
called Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS). Through a number of
researches, the two parties finally focus on two concepts of alcohol content
detection system.
The first system is based on the driver's respiratory. A
breathalyzer is placed on the steering wheel to detect the blood alcohol
content through the driver's breath. When the blood alcohol level reaches more
than 0.08, then the car engine won't be able to be started.
The second system involves infrared sensor that's built in
the Start button, it's usually located on the dashboard of the latest
generation cars. When the driver is about to start the engine by pressing the
button, the infrared sensor is able to detect alcohol content in the blood that
flows in the finger in less than 1 second.
Currently the driver alcohol detection system is still in
development stage. Hopefully, within the next five years, this system can be
offered as an optional feature for consumers who want to buy a new car.