Alcohol-Sensing Technology Could Become Standard in All Cars
The long-term transportation funding bill just approved by Congress includes funds for researching alcohol-detection technology that could eventually be standard equipment in all new cars.
Under a just-passed transportation bill, research eventually could lead to this hand-held breath-alcohol monitoring device being replaced by sensing-technology in the steering wheel or gear shift of cars.
That funding — $5 million over two years — should have been stripped from the bill because it “uses American taxpayer dollars to fund something they’re not going to want in their cars,” said a group representing the restaurant industry.
“Spending lots of taxpayer dollars to develop alcohol-sensing technology that can come as standard equipment in all cars is a misuse of these funds,” said Sarah Longwell, managing director of the American Beverage Institute (ABI).
Since 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the nation’s automakers have been researching technology that can non-invasively measure a driver’s blood-alcohol content and prevent a vehicle from starting if the driver is legally drunk. The national research effort is the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS).