America to mandate anti-drink-driving tech in cars

A bill has passed through the US Congress this week which could force car-makers to install ‘drunk driver detection’ technology into new vehicles within the next five years.

Details are yet to be finalised, and exactly what the potentially life-saving tech would look like is also unclear, however the $US1 trillion infrastructure bill – which now only needs sign-off from president Joe Biden – could require auto-makers to begin fitting anti-drink-driving systems by mid-decade.

It comes as part of a fresh attempt to improve road safety in light of increasing road fatalities in the US, where the Associated Press reports that around 10,000 people are killed each year – with 30 per cent alcohol-related.

The mandated in-car alcohol detection systems are not expected to be the familiar breathalyser-style devices already used in Australia and overseas to prevent drivers from starting their car if they blow over the legal blood alcohol limit.

More likely is an extension of the current semi-autonomous driver assist technology widely used in new vehicles that already monitors fatigue levels and can detect drowsiness and levels of concentration.

As you might expect, safety pioneer Volvo has already come up with such a system that can detect whether a driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Ultimately, it’ll be up to car-makers to design their own technology, based around the legislative requirements that the system must “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired”.

Once the systems are developed, they’re likely to be part of the standard suite of active safety features in every new car that’s sold not only in the US but around the world.

On the flipside, researchers have found many people believe that increasing autonomous driving functions in cars will enable them to drink more alcohol and drive home safely.