A proposed dashboard-mounted breathalyzer test could soon help curb the annual rate of drunk-driving-related deaths by as much as 7,000 potential lives. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS), recently backed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), works by slyly updating the basic technology found in standard breathalyzer machines so that the dashboard-mounted device possesses the power to shut down your vehicle entirely.
If one's blood alcohol is detected as above the legal limit of .08, the vehicle's functions become locked — leaving the driver with no choice but to order an Uber or call a friend. If the driver is under the legal drinking age, any detected trace of alcohol (not just levels above .08) will initiate the same lockdown process. "There is still a great deal of work to do," says NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind, "but support from Congress and [the automobile industry] has helped us achieve key research development milestones."
Though the DADSS is still in a "remedial phase" of development, those close to the technology's development and eventual implementation are confident that the potentially revolutionary device will be included as a standard feature on all new vehicles by the end of this decade.
