Finding solutions to prevent people from driving while impaired — from alcohol, prescription drugs and even fatigue — continues to be a top priority. In addition to educating the public on the dangers of driving under the influence and drowsy driving, automakers are tackling the problem directly with new vehicle-integrated safety innovations.
The Impact of Impaired Driving
Despite steady improvement over the past three decades, alcohol impaired driving still claims approximately 10,000 lives in the U.S. every year. But new technologies currently in the research and development stage have the potential to greatly reduce these numbers.
The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS)
The DADSS Program is researching a first-of-its-kind technology that will automatically detect when a driver is intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08% — the legal limit in all 50 states except Utah — and prevent the car from moving.
Removing the Guesswork
DADSS will take the guesswork out of BAC measurement by removing the potential for drivers to put themselves or others in danger. If the driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is at or above 0.08% — the legal limit in all 50 states except Utah — the car won’t move.
The system is currently going through rigorous testing against stringent performance standards.
Once commercially available automakers plan to offer this technology as a safety option in new vehicles, similar to other popular advanced driver assist features such as automatic braking and lane departure warnings that help improve driver performance, and offer a little more piece of mind.
The DADSS research program is a joint effort by the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), which represents the world’s leading automakers, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in one of the most important government and private sector partnerships in recent years.
