Washington: Too drunk? Your car won't go along for the ride, say scientists who are developing sensory devices which they claim would keep a vehicle from starting if the driver has had too many drinks.

 

The new technology would require either a passive set of sensors permanently installed in the vehicles or touch -sensitive contact points on a key fob or starter button that will immediately register the level of alcohol in bloodstream, 'The Washington Post' reported.
"Drunken driving remains leading cause of fatalities on America's roads, killing more than 10,000 people in 2009.
"The technology presents a new opportunity for us to dramatically lower drunk-driving deaths and has the potential to save literally thousands of lives every year," said David Strickland, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US.
Strassburger, whose group is part of the development task force, said the goal is to have an operating model in two years. The objective is to produce a device that will react in less than a second and function without maintenance for nearly 10 years or 157,000 miles.

 

"We haven't met our criteria yet, but we feel comfortable that we will. Speed, accuracy and precision are the three key criteria," Susan Ferguson, who is leading the research team, said.
Right now, she said, the sensors that detect alcohol levels in the air can be made to react within five seconds after a driver gets into the vehicle. The touch-detection system currently takes just 20 to 30 seconds to determine blood-alcohol content.
"But the next generation of solid-state electronics will bring it down a lot," Ferguson said.
Strassburger said the cost per vehicle hasn't been established, "but obviously it has to be relatively low". "It has to be in line with other safety systems. We want public to understand the need and how they benefit," he said.