San Francisco — In the next few years, car companies may be required to include features that check drivers’ alcohol use. The The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends All new cars in the United States are designed with blood alcohol monitoring systems that can stop a drunk driver.
The idea is to use advanced technology to reduce drunk driving. Efforts were accelerated on Tuesday.
The NTSB wants alcohol detection systems (ADS) in all new vehicles.
“I look at this technology as part of this advancement that we’re seeing in automotive technology,” said Ahmed Banafa, a professor of engineering and technology expert at San Jose State University. “Electric cars, self-driving cars. Now, we’re talking about safety.”
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Banafa dismantled the idea of passive alcohol detection systems – which would not require drivers to perform a task such as blowing into a breathing apparatus before hitting the road.
The car itself will be designed so as not to disturb or distract the discreet driver. Instead, automatic sensors will prevent a drunk driver from taking off.
“Especially when you start the car, it’s the first time he’s just trying to feel your breath,” he said. “The second technique they talk about is checking your fingers. For example, your touch, the touch technique where there is a light that checks it and sees what level of alcohol there is.”
The NTSB recommendation on Tuesday It comes as part of its investigation into a deadly 2021 crash near Fresno. A drunk driver collided with another vehicle on New Year’s Day, killing both adult drivers and seven children aged 6 to 15.
Stephanie Manning, chief government affairs officer for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), participated in.
“These children and these adults should be alive today,” she said. “There is no reason for this crash to happen because we have the technology to prevent this crash and other accidents that happen day in and day out.”
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Volvo is working on such technology For several years including in-vehicle cameras and other sensors to monitor the driver and allow the vehicle to intervene in case of apparent intoxication or distraction.
“This really is the beginning of the end of drunk driving,” Manning said. “MADD victims and survivors have achieved a massive victory working with our heroes — members of Congress on both sides of the aisle earned a national standard that was passed last year.” “And the NTSB’s coming out with recommendations today validates everything that victims and survivors have been talking about and working on for years.”
The NTSB has no regulatory authority and can only require other agencies to act. She is using the recommendation to add pressure on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to act. A law passed last year gives the agency a three-year timetable.
In the NTSB statement, the agency described, “Driving under the influence continues to be a leading cause of injury-related highway accidents. Since 2000, more than 230,000 people have lost their lives in accidents involving drivers with alcohol disabilities, according to the NHTSA. In 2020, in 2020, An estimated 11,654 deaths occurred in incidents of alcoholism.”
According to the agency, the data represented about 30% of all traffic deaths that year and a 14% increase from the 10,196 people who died of alcoholism in 2019.
“Speed is also an issue that research indicates is getting worse. In 2020, there were 11,258 deaths in collisions in which at least one driver was speeding, according to NHTSA,” according to the statement. “Excess speed increases the chances of getting into a crash and the risk of accident injuries.”
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“We need to apply the technologies we have here, now to save lives,” NTSB President Jennifer Homedy said.
“It’s not impossible,” Banafa said. “We can do that. It’s a matter of government pushing for this, people pushing for this, car makers – they see an opportunity in this to say, our car is safer than other cars.”
The NHTSA told ABC7 News in response, “The only acceptable number of disabled driving accidents is zero. The agency has begun work to meet the requirements of the bipartisan Infrastructure Act to set the rules regarding advanced disabled driving technology in vehicles.”
“It’s going to take time,” Banafa told ABC7 News. “We have 280 million cars in the US and on the roads now. So you’re talking about models – next model, next models.” “So it will be a few years before we can see it – 2024, 2025 is the promise we’re hearing from companies.”
Manning with MADD said, “This technology won’t bother a sober driver. You won’t notice any differences in your driving experience, assuming you’re not breaking the law and driving is poor.”
“In fact, we’re talking about a time when our roads are facing a real crisis with speed-related weakness and accidents,” she continued. “We are going in the wrong direction with deaths on our roads.”
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