NTSB wants all new vehicles to check drivers for alcohol use

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

NTSB wants all new vehicles to check drivers for alcohol use

By TOM KRISHER
September 20, 2022

DETROIT (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that all new vehicles in the U.S. be equipped with blood alcohol monitoring systems that can stop an intoxicated person from driving.

The recommendation, if enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, could reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes, one of the biggest causes of highway deaths in the U.S.

The new push to make roads safer was included in a report released Tuesday about a horrific crash last year in which a drunk driver collided head-on with another vehicle near Fresno, California, killing both adult drivers and seven children.

NHTSA said this week that roadway deaths in the U.S. are at crisis levels. Nearly 43,000 people were killed last year, the greatest number in 16 years, as Americans returned to roads after pandemic stay-at-home orders.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/technology-health-covid-transportation-traffic-1f25c2aaadca31a0649c8058c70c97a1

[Mr.Bill]

1. Sounds like the insurance lobby at work. n/t

[3Hotdogs]

2. A good idea....

doubt it will ever pass. Too much pushback from alcohol and restaurant industries.

[Shermann]

3. Not to mention drivers

Drivers don't want to be policed by the police, let alone policed by their own vehicles (to say nothing of the tie-in with vehicle event data recorders).

[3Hotdogs]

4. If its engineered so as the car won't start if high b.o.c. is sensed,

there is no way the driver will be picked up by the police.

One of my co-workers had such a device installed in his car as a condition for driving after his d.w.i. conviction. He had to blow into the unit and car wouldn't start if it detected alcohol.


I don't expect drivers to have to blow into a device but if alcohol is detected from the driver's side.....

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. I've heard it's common for someone with one of those devices

to have someone else blow into it.

I honestly have zero personal knowledge here.

[KS Toronado]

15. My neighbor has one

It's got a built-in camera so no cheating, and then someone downtown after viewing
has to give the vehicle a "ok to start"

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. That makes sense.

Too me, it also makes sense that these things should only be in cars of those who've had DUIs, not everyone by any means.

[hlthe2b]

5. Except for the multiple conditions & exposures that can render a false positive for alcohol

Including, but not limited to ketones in poorly controlled diabetes (and occasionally in those on ketogenic diets), those with severe GERD and several asthma medications.

It has been well-established that the following medications and substances can cause false positives for BAC in breath testing:

Asthma medications. ...
Nyquil and OTC medications with alcohol. ...
Anbesol in Oral Gels. ...
Mouthwash and Breath Spray. ...
Fumes. ...
Gastroesophageal Acid Reflux. ...
Ketones.



In theory, yes a good idea, but practically, major problem unless technology improves beyond what is currently available.

[SWBTATTReg]

9. Wow. I didn't know so many things can trigger false reads. I use the

Anbesol, I use the Nyquil, and also Asthma medications. Good to know.

[BWdem4life]

17. ...and pizza, if it's yeasty enough. nt

[questionseverything]

6. Unnecessary expense

43,000 roadway deaths and govt agency wants big expensive change

Meanwhile covid deaths on track for 2 million in same time period and its “over”

[Shermann]

8. I know right?

Wearing a mask is an infringement but having to pay for vehicle breathalyzers integrated with event data recorders and WAN connections is A-OK?

Studies have shown that conversations of any kind while driving are a distraction, so may as well shut the vehicle down if too much banter is detected.

[multigraincracker]

10. The most cost effective way to save lives,

would be auto daylight headlights. Just like motorcycles and Canadian law. Then making a dead zone for cell phones when in motion.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. Lots of cars have the daylight headlights.

And my current car, a 2017 Honda Fit, does not allow my cell phone to operate if the car's engine is on. It will read me texts, which is nice.

[multigraincracker]

13. My old 2000 Chevy van has

daylight running lights. I didn’t know that many newer cars had them.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. Many cars have had the daylight running lights

They first showed up around 1990. Not all cars have them. My fit doesn't have them, although I leave the headlight setting on automatic, and so whenever it gets dim enough, whether at sunset or in gloomy conditions, they come on automatically. I like that.

[multigraincracker]

18. One East Coast state, I think Vermont

and Canada required them.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. I just checked, and Vermont

requires having headlights on from 30 minutes before sunset to thirty minutes after sunrise. I think many other states have similar laws.

With Canada, it's on all cars sold since 1989, by which I suppose means all new cars from that year.

Just a quick Google search.

[MichMan]

7. Needs to also check to see if under the influence of marijuana or other drugs

[KS Toronado]

16. Instead of a blood alcohol monitoring system

Can we have vehicles that can judge how straight of a line you can walk heel to toe?