NHTSA moving to tackle drink driving in US

A move by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US could help reduce the risks of drink driving in the country. The NHTSA is working with a group of major automakers (the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety) and this has resulted in the establishment of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS). The aim is to develop devices that can detect and prevent drunk driving by the use of infrared breath analysis or biometric readings using fingerprints. The technology is
March 24, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSA move by the 2467 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US could help reduce the risks of drink driving in the country. The NHTSA is working with a group of major automakers (the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety) and this has resulted in the establishment of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS). The aim is to develop devices that can detect and prevent drunk driving by the use of infrared breath analysis or biometric readings using fingerprints.

The technology is in its research phase at present however and is expected to continue until 2018. Some devices that can carry out the necessary functions are currently available as aftermarket equipment. The existing ignition interlock technology prevents starting of a vehicle if a certain alcohol level is registered in the driver's breath. According to a study by the 5186 University of Michigan's Injury Center and Transportation Research Institute, the use of the ignition interlock technology in every truck and car in the US could save US$ 343 million over 15 years and 59,000 lives. The use of the technology could create cost savings that may outweigh the device's expenses after three years.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Police action reveals drink driving issue in Europe
    July 27, 2015
    Pan-European moves to tackle drink driving reveal that many still take to the wheel while over the limit for alcohol. The results from week-long operation to address drink driving run in June show that there were 16,497 alcohol offences from 1,104,879 breath tests in 26 countries. One in 66 drivers tested was over the limit in this year’s operation, compared with one in 63 last year and one in 59 in 2013. In addition, 2,752 drug offences were recorded, while over 2,516 other crimes were also detected during
    Read More
  • Road safety improvement for the US
    December 11, 2012
    The US is seeing improvements in road safety overall, with a drop in road crash statistics for 2011. The data for 2011 is encouraging and the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a new analysis indicating that highway deaths fell to 32,367 in 2011. This marked the lowest level of road related fatalities since 1949, 1.9% decrease from the previous year. Furthermore, this updated 2011 data show the historic downward trend in recent years continu
    Read More
  • US road safety concern at higher crashes
    October 13, 2017
    Concern has been expressed at the increase in road deaths in the US. There were 37,461 road deaths on US roads in 2016, an increase of 5.6% from 2015. The data comes from the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA data was collected from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It also shows that the vehicle distance travelled on US roads in 2016 increased by 2.2%.
    Read More
  • Road fatalities drink driving
    April 16, 2012
    The European Union is making serious moves to tackle road fatalities in a bid to cut Europe's road death rates to 25,000/year by 2010. So far, measures taken have had little effect, bringing the number down by just 18% to 41,000/year.
    Read More

Highlighted Content