Devices Aim To Stop Drunken Drivers

(CBS)  If friends don't let friends drive drunk, there's one car that's a driver's best friend. It's equipped with a breathalyzer linked to the ignition, and it won't start if the driver is intoxicated.

"Interlock devices are up to 90 percent effective in reducing repeat offenses. This really can stop repeat offenders from continuing to drink and drive," says MADD CEO Chuck Hurley.

Now mandatory for repeat offenders in 19 states, ignition interlocks, as they're called, have been installed in about 100,000 cars. But that number is tiny compared to the 1.4 million drunken driving arrests made in the United States each year, reports CBS News transportation and consumer safety correspondent Nancy Cordes.

"We see them as a benefit — a technology that's being underutilized," says Nicole Nason of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

But maybe not for long: At least four major automakers are working on their own versions.

Saab's AlcoKey, a key and breathalyzer in one, is already in field trials.

In Nissan's concept, sensors in the gearshift and seats would pick up alcohol in perspiration, whole a camera mounted on the instrument panel would detect drowsiness.

"They just touch or their regular breathing activates these systems, and they're able to warn them about their alcohol level," explains Bob Yakushi, Nissan's director of product safety.

It's still a good five years from reality.

For now, Steve Carter is using an interlock which he had installed after his third DUI.

"I'm not invincible, and if I continue behaving in this manner and drinking in this manner, it's going to kill me," he said.

While critics argue the technology isn't foolproof, highway safety advocates say otherwise.

"They're not that easy to defeat, but there's a perception out there that they are," Nason says. "They may have been in the beginning."

The devices have a track record, she says, for stopping would-be drunken drivers cold.

[drummer94]

Why not is right. I shouldnt have been drivin when I did. I appoligize to everyone. I made a stupid mistake but I should not pay for the rest of my life. Never say never because it happens- trust me.

[drummer94]

I am not Drummer but i am his old lady. I got a Impaired driving but I delt with it. I didnt like it but I jumped threw their hoops

[grammawhamma]

What about all the people who drink in the car while they are driving...unfortunately it is a common thing in my area. Will the car just shut off when they reach their limit? If they had breathalyzers at bars I can foresee the drunks compeating to see who can blow the highest number. I am not sure what the solution is.

[caeric]

who will bring their children with them to blow into the device for the offender.

This is a valid concern if the device only checks at vehicle startup. However, if the devices are integrated into the vehicle and do periodic checks (such as with the perspiration monitor mentioned in the article) such activity can be reduced or eliminated.

[lisakbryant]

There have been numerous accounts of repeat offenders with these devices in their cars as part of their sentence who will bring their children with them to blow into the device for the offender. This now puts a minor in the vehicle with a drunk driver. Technology should be able to find a solution for this problem.

[myidoncbs]

The interlock is likely to work very well for drunks who really do not want to drive drunk, but are unable to judge for themselves when they are drunk. But it is not a panacea. If the safety advocates believe it can''t be easily defeated, they are really fooling themselves.

ralan40 suggested a typical authoritarian approach to getting drunks off the road: incarceration. But, guess what ralan? Incarceration does not actually solve the problem. It only keeps them off the road while they''re in jail. Even if we wanted to do so, our country can not afford to build enough jails to house all of our drunks for their entire lives-- those jails are already full of people who smoked a little weed or crack!

The USA has the largest documented prison population in the world, and it has not solved the problem of crime one bit.

So, I applaud the effort, but I wish someone would put a little more attention on whatever it is that causes people to feel the need to get drunk, and what keeps them from realizing that they can''t drive once they are drunk.

[gunownerdan]

This should be mandatory for all repeat drunk driving offenders in all 50 states.
It''s certainly a lot better than those nazi-style police checkpoints!

[rational_1]

Anyone that has as much as one drink at a bar and then drives home should have access to a device before leaving the bar. Just a quick check before driving and the penalties should be posted on the exit door as you leave. Just like labor dept info in the workplace. You just blew .07 at the machine and...... your penalty could be XYZ if you drive. Slowly it would begin to sink in.
Posted by magoo2u1 at 08:03 AM : Aug 23, 2007

There''s the potential problem of the person who blows 0.07 mg% at the door, thinks he''s okay to drive because he''s below 0.08, but his blood alcohol level is still on the rising phase because of the three shots he had immediately before leaving the bar. Half an hour later, while he''s driving, his BAC hits 0.12. So, what should your car do if it detects a BAC higher than the legal limit in your perspiration while you''re meandering down the highway - assuming it was below the legal limit when you started off? Wonder if they''ve thought of that.

[octavianfdlr]

"Interlock devices are up to 90 percent effective in reducing repeat offenses."

"...ignition interlocks, as they''re called, have been installed in about 100,000 cars."

Does this mean that 10,000 drunks have been arrested driving cars equipped with these interlocks? Or does this mean that 90,000 had fewer repeat offenses, and the remaining 10,000 had the normal number of repeat offenses?

[ralan40]

Here''s an idea, a device that keeps drunk drivers off the road....we could call it ''incarceration''