Jul 02, 2012 02:57 AM EDT
Alcohol-detection Technology Fund Gets Green Signal

"Buried within this 600 page legislation are provisions that would fund research into alcohol detection devices for all cars and highly incentivize states to pass laws requiring ignition interlock devices for all drunk driving offenders,"  reads the statement from the American Beverage Institute (ABI), which represents restaurants on the approved bill.

The bill funds $5 million for research into the devices on alcohol-detection technology over the next two years. For the last four years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and automakers in U.S. have been researching technology which can non-invasively measure blood-alcohol in the driver's blood content and can prevent a vehicle from starting if the driver is legally drunk. "Spending lots of taxpayer dollars to develop alcohol sensing technology which can come as standard equipment in all cars is a misuse of these funds," comments Sarah Longwell, Managing Director of the American Beverage Institute (ABI).

She further comments that with the introduction of such a unique technology means the end of social drinking in U.S. "Our main complaint is that (the in-car systems) will not be set at .08 percent. It will have to be set lower, because after five drinks, your BAC level is not .08 percent right away. It will increase, and cross the legal threshold while you're driving. The vehicles can't just shut down mid-trip. So, for legal and liability reasons, it will have to set below .08 percent. We believe they will set it around 02 or 0.3 percent," adds Longwell.

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