Drinking and driving is an all around bad idea. If the depressing TV commercials or risk of vehicular manslaughter don’t get you to stop doing it, perhaps this will. Researchers have created a high-tech laser that senses alcohol vapor in a moving vehicle. That’s right, law enforcement officials don’t even have to pull you over to know you’ve been drinking. The laser device -- created by researchers from the Military University of Technology is Warsaw, Poland -- shines through your mirror and bounces back detecting small concentrations of alcohol.
Now, between red-light cameras, radar detectors, and this new gadget, there’s very little a driver can actually get away with. With a multitude of tools in their arsenal, cops have everything they need to ensure that drivers on the road remain safe.
Published roughly a month ago in the Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, the study provides evidence that found alcohol exhaled by a drunk driver with a concentration about 0.1 percent can be detected by the device. As sensitive as the laser already is, researchers are convinced that it may be even more sensitive than they initially thought.
As with a lot of technology, however, there are ways to trick the device. Rolling down your windows, turning up the air conditioner, or simply having tinted windows can throw the device off. One of the biggest downfalls currently is deciphering who has been drinking, since if it's your passenger with the booze on their breath the laser certainly won't be able to tell the difference.
Of course, whether you can trick this device or not, drinking and driving is dangerous and police still have plenty of methods to catch those riding under the influence.
[via PopSci]
