New Technology to Keep Drunk Drivers Off the Road

A Massachusetts company is developing a new technology that will help prevent drunk drivers from driving on the roads.

A company near Boston is developing new technology, which many hope, could help stop drunk driving altogether and save thousands of lives every year. According to a Jan. 2 CBS news report, the $10-million project is supported both by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and 16 major automakers who are splitting the funding. The company has narrowed the project to two technologies, one that is breath-based and another that is touch-based, but the goal is to prevent the car from moving if the person behind the wheel is impaired, the article states.

Drunk Driving Video

In the touch-based approach, a sensor that is embedded in the car's start/stop button, sends an infrared light to the fingertip thereby measuring the tissue's alcohol content. In the breath-based approach, a sensor that is mounted near the steering wheel could test the driver's breath, the article explains. In as much as half a second, the sensor determined whether the driver's blood alcohol level is above 0.08 percent, which is the national legal limit, the report states. The technology, which is being opposed by the American Beverage Institute, a trade group representing 8,000 U.S. chain restaurants, could be ready by the end of this decade, the article reports.

'Any technology that is effective in preventing more DUI deaths should be given serious consideration', said John Bisnar, founder of the Bisnar Chase personal injury law firm. "This is a great opportunity for us to prevent thousands of people from dying each year. If this technology can do what seatbelts did, that would be truly remarkable."

While some are concerned that targeting all Americans with alcohol-sensing technology may prevent people from even having a glass of wine at dinner or a beer at a ballgame, it is important to look at the bigger picture here, Bisnar says. "In many tragic cases where we see people catastrophically injured or killed from a DUI accident, we often see that the drivers are drunk way over the legal limit. These new technologies will come too late for families that have lost loved ones or for those who are caring for seriously injured or disabled family members. But, hopefully, the new technology will help prevent heartbreaking tragedies in the future."

About Bisnar Chase

The California DUI victim attorneys of represent victims of auto accidents, defective products, dangerous roadways, and many other serious personal injuries. The firm has been featured on a number of popular media outlets including Newsweek, Fox, NBC, and ABC and is known for its passionate pursuit of results for their clients.

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Sources: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57561558/new-technology-aims-to-stall-drunk-drivers/