NTSB says all vehicles need alcohol detectors and the law will soon require them

[Hydrogen]

National Transportation Safety Board says over 10,000 lives could be saved annually

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is officially recommending that all new cars and trucks be equipped with alcohol detection devices.

The decision comes following an investigation into a head-on collision that took place on New Year's Day 2021 in Avenel, California, between a speeding SUV being driven by an impaired driver and a pickup truck that left nine dead.

​"Technology could’ve prevented this heartbreaking crash — just as it can prevent the tens of thousands of fatalities from impaired-driving and speeding-related crashes we see in the U.S. annually," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a report.

"We need to implement the technologies we have right here, right now to save lives."​

The NTSB, which has no regulatory authority itself, has told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it should implement a requirement for the systems along with a program that would incentivize automakers and consumers "to adopt intelligent speed adaptation systems that would prevent speed-related crashes" even when alcohol is not involved.

According to the NTSB, there were 11,654 fatalities occurred in alcohol-impaired crashes in 2020, which represented approximately 30% of all accident-related deaths.

NHTSA is already working on the topic as the infrastructure bill signed into law by President Biden in 2021 included a requirement for all vehicles to be equipped with passive alcohol interlocks, which would make them inoperable if a high blood alcohol level is detected. The law dictates that regulations be developed within three years and gives automakers two years to comply, but allows the Department of Transportation to extend the periods, if technically necessary.

Unlike the systems currently mandated by states for drivers convicted of DUI offenses, which require them to breathe into a tube before starting their vehicles. NHTSA and 17 automakers have been developing and testing a passive breath test and a touch system that uses infrared light to measure the blood alcohol level through the skin as part of the DADSS (Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety) program.

Details on how the final version of the technology will operate are still being worked out, but the current aftermarket interlock systems typically cost around $60 to $150 to install and $60 to $80 per month to calibrate and monitor remotely, according to manufacturer LifeSaver.

Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst for the ACLU, said the organization applauds efforts to save lives, but that this technology raises concerns about the mishandling of personal information.

"There are a lot of ways that safety can be improved that don't involved invading people's privacy. Keeping the data in the vehicle would help address that," Stanley said.

"I hope the regulators recognize the seriousness of this issue and don't mess around with how the information collected is managed by the automakers."

NHTSA says on its website that "in order to be considered for widespread deployment, the DADSS technology must be seamless, accurate, and precise, and unobtrusive to the sober driver. It must also be proven reliable to be installed in the vehicle fleet and publically favorable."

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/ntsb-vehicles-alcohol-detectors-law

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The following is interesting:

the infrastructure bill signed into law by President Biden in 2021 included a requirement for all vehicles to be equipped with passive alcohol interlocks, which would make them inoperable if a high blood alcohol level is detected. The law dictates that regulations be developed within three years and gives automakers two years to comply, but allows the Department of Transportation to extend the periods, if technically necessary.

I had no idea breathalyzers becoming mandatory standardized features for automobiles in the US was a high priority.

It could be worthwhile to check if companies who produce and maintain equipment to support these measures are publicly traded on stock markets. It is possible that demand and sales for these units will greatly increase as they become mandated and enforced. It is also possible that only middle class and higher earners will be able to afford to extra expense.

Does this technology carry potential to effectively prevent intoxicated drivers from getting behind the wheel. Or will a mobile app surface to help drunk drivers circumvent the blood alcohol deterrent by making it easier to find unintoxicated randoms to help bypass the tests.

[jackg]

The idea of doing that in the UK often has someone saying they'll just get someone else in the car to take the breathalyser/test instead of them. If they can do it via skin and put it on somewhere like the stearing wheel then this might be harder to do especially if multiple readings can be done (like with fingerprint scanners - and if the device doesn't need much cleaning between tests).

The UK has laws (coming into effect this year) to bring in speed limiters in cars, I wonder if this is going to be something the US is implementing too: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/news/mandatory-speed-limiters-on-uk-cars-from-2022

Both of these parts of legislation will likely prevent crashes (hopefully it can be most seen between cars and pedestrians in the UK too - especially young children for speed limits but I guess time will probably tell on whether both of these are successful or not).

[Gyfts]

There's 11,654 fatalities related to alcohol impairment, which represented approximately 30% of all accident-related deaths so there's a little over 30k fatal accidents in the U.S. yearly. An alcohol detector seems like an unnecessary intrusion to solve an issue that doesn't exist. 11,654 fatalities in a country with how many millions of drivers?

Details on how the final version of the technology will operate are still being worked out, but the current aftermarket interlock systems typically cost around $60 to $150 to install and $60 to $80 per month to calibrate and monitor remotely, according to manufacturer LifeSaver.

It's always the consumer that foots the bill for these sort of expenses. The car companies are going to factor these costs into the price of their car. And what other data will be monitored? These sort of ideas always start with good intention (ie saving lives) and then turns into government overreach. First it's alcohol detection, then it becomes speed detection. Then law enforcement gets to bust down your door because you went a bit over the speed limit.

[STT]

Theres no need for an expensive test especially.   It can be dodged as mentioned though I think that would not happen often and it makes any assistance guilty of manslaughter possibly, I wouldnt.    I would just require people to take a simple dexterity test, it could happen via smart phone and varied.   Any number of things are possible, any large scale move by government is fixed and in the end people get around it we all know that tbh.