Recently, it was reported by major newspapers including the Detroit News that the National Highway Safety Administration's head, David Strickland, urged major automakers to continue their research and funding to develop an in-vehicle system to detect alcohol use by drivers. This technology would prevent individuals who are drunk from starting their vehicle. The implications of this technology, as any Michigan drivers license reinstatement lawyer will know, are significant. For example, if successful, it could prevent 10,000 deaths per year that occur as a result of drunken driving.
The research for this technology has been ongoing since 2008. Two different technologies are being worked on: one technology is touch-based and another is breath-based. According to Mr. Strickland, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a research vehicle will be available for review later this year and he thinks that it will probably take another five years of research before one of these cars could be on the road.
Obviously, the biggest societal benefit is the lives that would be saved from this technology. And for individuals who otherwise would've been convicted of drunk driving, it can save them from criminal convictions, fines, costs and the loss of their driving privileges. It would also spare these individuals from needing to go through the Michigan drivers license appeal process.
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There are certainly questions about whether this technology will actually work. There are concerns about whether people be stranded if their car doesn't start. However, there are huge potential savings for society not only of lives, but also decreased medical costs, law enforcement costs and criminal justice costs.
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