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January 29, 2007
TOYOTA, SAAB DRUNK DETECTION SYSTEMS MAKE THE NEWS
Japan’s national-circulation Asahi Shimbun, in a story picked up by the Detroit Free Press, reports that Toyota is “developing a fail-safe system for cars that detects drunken drivers and automatically shuts the vehicle down if sensors pick up signs of excessive alcohol consumption.” Cars with the system “will not start if sweat sensors in the driving wheel detect high levels of alcohol in the driver’s bloodstream... The system could also kick in if the sensors detect abnormal steering, or if a special camera shows that the driver’s pupils are not in focus. The car is then slowed to a halt…” Toyota “hopes to fit cars with the system by the end of 2009.”
Meanwhile, a report from the UK says that Saab’s “AlcoKey” system is in “widespread” trials with repeat drink drivers in Sweden. It says, “Smaller than a mobile phone, the slim Saab AlcoKey module incorporates a flip-top cover with a mouth piece where the driver provides a breath sample before starting the car. A radio transmitter then sends a signal to the car's electronic control unit. This will either allow the car to be started, or keep it immobilised if the breath sample is found to contain alcohol above the permitted legal level.”
Posted by MVHAP at January 29, 2007 03:37 PM