The U.S. Congress has launched a study into the effectiveness of “in-vehicle” technology, such as ignition interlock systems, when trying to prevent drunk drivers from starting their cars, according to a report from Politico.com.
In a recent transportation bill passed by the Senate, politicians subtly inserted a provision that asks the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to study the potential effects of a “more widespread deployment” of in-vehicle devices.
The research will be conducted by the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, which is a joint effort between the automobile industry and the NHTSA to reduce the overall occurrence of drunk driving.
The goal of the research is to design technology that is “far less intrusive” than the current ignition interlock devices, which require drivers to blow into a breathalyzer device that is attached to the car’s dashboard and wait up to a minute for the breath sample to be measured.
Several states require repeat DUI offenders to have these devices installed in their cars, and some states have even proposed laws that would require first-time drunk drivers to blow into these machines before starting their cars.
Of course, the efforts by Congress to develop better DUI prevention technology have been met with some resistance from civil liberties advocates, as well as the alcohol industry itself.
According to Sarah Longwell, the managing director of the American Beverage Institute, the bill could eventually lead to a mandate that forces all car makers to insert these devices into their cars as original equipment.
This, naturally, upsets the American Beverage Institute, which represents alcohol distributors and restaurants that sell alcohol, because the presence of alcohol testing devices in cars could dramatically reduce the number of people willing to go out on the town to drink.
In response to these concerns, those who support the bill claim that car companies would not necessarily have to insert these devices into every new vehicle.
According to J.T. Griffin, a senior vice president with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, “car companies right now are trying to figure out how to do it and if it can even be done. The goal is this would be a voluntary technology.”
However, Griffin also said his organization believes that, ultimately, “every parent in America is going to want this on their vehicle.”
If this prediction proves correct, alcohol detection systems could eventually become as common a car feature as radios, windows, and air conditioning.
