The NHTSA takes major step toward making drunk driving prevention tech mandatory in vehicles

[midian182]

What just happened? In-car equipment has advanced enormously over the last few years, and the next piece of tech that could become standard in all passenger vehicles is one that detects if a driver is drunk. It sounds like something that is years away, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it has taken the first step in making anti-drunk driving technology a requirement.

In an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, the NHTSA said that it had started gathering information about drunk and impaired driving prevention technology as there are currently no commercially available options.

The agency evaluated 331 driver monitoring systems and found no models could properly identify if a driver was alcohol-impaired. It said that while there are three DMS systems that claim to detect alcohol-based impairment, these remain in the research and development phase.

After the notice is published in the Federal Register, the public will be able to submit comments for 60 days.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress in 2021 requires the NHTSA to develop a standard that can detect impaired driving by monitoring drivers' performance, detecting whether blood alcohol levels are equal to or greater than the legal limit, or a combination of both. If a system detects a driver is impaired, the operation of the vehicle will be limited or restricted.

A group called Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety which includes the NHTSA and 16 automakers has been researching different anti-drunk driving technologies. One is a system designed to measure alcohol in a non-invasive way as a person breathes normally, while in the driver's seat – no blowing into a breathalyzer.

Another technology the group is researching is a touch system. This uses tissue spectroscopy to measure blood alcohol levels under the skin's surface by shining an infrared-light through the fingertip or palm of the driver. It's designed to be integrated into current vehicle controls, such as the start button or steering wheel. It's likely that most people would prefer this method of in-vehicle alcohol detection.

Even though mandating detection technology could save around 10,000 lives per year, it's expected that there will be pushback against these systems, especially if they're not 100% accurate. There are also questions over whether the technology could be tricked or even hacked.

Congress has set an initial deadline of November 2024 for the technology's regulations to be adopted, but it will likely take a lot longer before they are in place.

In September 2022, the NTSB called for all new vehicles to leverage tech to prevent drunk driving and speeding.

Masthead: energepic.com

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/101186-nhtsa-takes-major-step-toward-making-drunk-driving.html

 

[brucek]

On top of all the technical hurdles in making this more accurate than not, the biggest problem is that the very last group of people to have vehicles with it installed will be the habitual drunks who need it most. And even after it is mandatory on every new car; and every prior car has turned to rust; that same group will still be finding various ways to circumvent it.

Self-driving vehicles will solve this problem faster. The drunks (and everyone else) will voluntarily choose cars with that feature before they'll run out of ways to avoid the alcohol detection system.

I'm glad the government didn't leap to self-snitching cars and/or phones that alert police to (very) unsafe driving, but that's probably a more realistic approach and could be buried deeply in tech already in wide adoption that even drunks would find difficult to give up. It would also cover more causes than just alcohol.

 

[3volv3d]

I do like the idea. The car doesnt need to snitch, just deactivate. Mods will deactivate this tech mind.
But... Just level ya cities and towns. Build in blocks. Straight trains/ trams/ monorail.
Let/ make the populations drop.
Build better smarter cities.
Lose cars.
Electric vehicles only existing in emergency, service, goods vehicles.

 

[VitalyT]

This is not gonna work, because then you'll need a sensor to confirm the driver isn't high, then one to confirm the driver isn't a complete imbecile (good luck with that one).

Policy for driving cars has always been like one with military drafting - one only needs a point finger to qualify.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

This is truly awful. these types of sensors are expensive, complicated, and need constant maintenance. We already have breathalyzers, they need maintenance almost weekly to keep them reporting accurately from train professionals. They are a MASSIVE PITA.

You want to miniaturize that and make it accurate. Have we forgotten about theranos?

Oh, and sensors are nearly 100% of the time the thing that fails first in cars. Everyone known how picky O2 sensors are. Who wants to believe these would work for any length of time?

People will hack the hell out of these, because if the car wont run without them people will get pissed when the sensors fail and they get stranded in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere.

I do like the idea. The car doesnt need to snitch, just deactivate. Mods will deactivate this tech mind.
But... Just level ya cities and towns. Build in blocks. Straight trains/ trams/ monorail.
Let/ make the populations drop.
Build better smarter cities.
Lose cars.
Electric vehicles only existing in emergency, service, goods vehicles.

You going to pay for this insane delusion? Pro tip: we tore down cities that couldnt handle cars because cars are convenient and everybody wanted them. Meanwhile, nobody wanted to live packed into crime filled cities. 100 years later nothing has changed.

On top of all the technical hurdles in making this more accurate than not, the biggest problem is that the very last group of people to have vehicles with it installed will be the habitual drunks who need it most. And even after it is mandatory on every new car; and every prior car has turned to rust; that same group will still be finding various ways to circumvent it.

Self-driving vehicles will solve this problem faster. The drunks (and everyone else) will voluntarily choose cars with that feature before they'll run out of ways to avoid the alcohol detection system.

I'm glad the government didn't leap to self-snitching cars and/or phones that alert police to (very) unsafe driving, but that's probably a more realistic approach and could be buried deeply in tech already in wide adoption that even drunks would find difficult to give up. It would also cover more causes than just alcohol.

Self snitching is already a thing - see the GM cars that police can track and deactivate remotely, or the toyotas that report the number of drivers to your insurance. Said immobilizer tech is also being mandated in 2026.

My 91 is looking better every day.

 

[nulll]

I do like the idea. The car doesnt need to snitch, just deactivate. Mods will deactivate this tech mind.
But... Just level ya cities and towns. Build in blocks. Straight trains/ trams/ monorail.
Let/ make the populations drop.
Build better smarter cities.
Lose cars.
Electric vehicles only existing in emergency, service, goods vehicles.

I'm all for taking the time to actually architect our communities as new development is planned and it is certainly worth the time and resources to do so. The issues are the same as they've always been though, most large cities (certainly in the EU) were originally built with the horse and cart in mind and the sheer scale of not only the construction effort let alone the nearly insurmountable task of sorting out the deeds and land rights to reconfigure it all now effectively precludes city centers from changing that much (besides who'd travel to New York if it looked like any other modern Western suburb). In a lot of ways we're still learning about what the balance of urban density vs. commute time and green space looks like when maximized, not to mention the simple fact that some folks thrive in ultra dense urban areas where as others (like myself) who come from ultra rural areas enjoy a visit to the urban cores but a couple of weeks a year is plenty.

There is also a lot of low hanging fruit left in terms of refinement for efficiency with road travel in the US and elsewhere as most US roadways don't as of yet have sensor based traffic lights deployed as the sheer scale of this upgrade is simply going to take time. Many Western countries have seen 20% plus efficiency gains just via light upgrades that maximize traffic flow. Add on top of this the in coming ubiquity of really inexpensive electric scooters and e-bikes with substantially improved range and longevity for a sub $1000 USD price tag and we'll just see a natural thinning traffic as folks are availed of more options that better suit their interests and use cases.

Subscription based transport in a similar model to cell phones is already available in many cities and works just fine (there will continue to be refinements in business model, regulation and legislation) for folks who don't need/want to own a vehicle and the associated costs that come with it. Really it's just a matter of adjusting the temperature of the bath water as opposed to trying to empty the tub.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I'm all for taking the time to actually architect our communities as new development is planned and it is certainly worth the time and resources to do so. The issues are the same as they've always been though, most large cities (certainly in the EU) were originally built with the horse and cart in mind and the sheer scale of not only the construction effort let alone the nearly insurmountable task of sorting out the deeds and land rights to reconfigure it all now effectively precludes city centers from changing that much (besides who'd travel to New York if it looked like any other modern Western suburb). In a lot of ways we're still learning about what the balance of urban density vs. commute time and green space looks like when maximized, not to mention the simple fact that some folks thrive in ultra dense urban areas where as others (like myself) who come from ultra rural areas enjoy a visit to the urban cores but a couple of weeks a year is plenty.

There is also a lot of low hanging fruit left in terms of refinement for efficiency with road travel in the US and elsewhere as most US roadways don't as of yet have sensor based traffic lights deployed as the sheer scale of this upgrade is simply going to take time. Many Western countries have seen 20% plus efficiency gains just via light upgrades that maximize traffic flow. Add on top of this the in coming ubiquity of really inexpensive electric scooters and e-bikes with substantially improved range and longevity for a sub $1000 USD price tag and we'll just see a natural thinning traffic as folks are availed of more options that better suit their interests and use cases.

Subscription based transport in a similar model to cell phones is already available in many cities and works just fine (there will continue to be refinements in business model, regulation and legislation) for folks who don't need/want to own a vehicle and the associated costs that come with it. Really it's just a matter of adjusting the temperature of the bath water as opposed to trying to empty the tub.

And even in places like Amsterdam, which is the pinnacle of modern city design, 1 in 5 still use a car daily. Making cities accessible is one thing, this idea of making a city where nobody has a car is untenable.

 

[nulll]

And even in places like Amsterdam, which is the pinnacle of modern city design, 1 in 5 still use a car daily. Making cities accessible is one thing, this idea of making a city where nobody has a car is untenable.

I completely agree, we need to move past the idea of "my way or the highway" (DOUBLE ENTENDRE!) and accept the reality that every use case and lifestyle has a maximally efficient and enjoyable possibility. When we start setting up hard line legislative limits such as banning all "whatever thing is the new distasteful fad" by a set date is when we divorce ourselves from critical and highly granular thought. By 2035 most folks are going to be driving an EV of some type that will devastate any currently produced ICE vehicle because the ceiling on the potential of the underlying technology is simply far higher.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-community-bikeways-coalition-report-city-1.6701358

Nobody wants the be the dude on the pedal bike depicted part way down in this article! I live at a slightly higher latitude than Toronto and I try to run 5ish km (~3 freedom distances) a few nights as week all winter and it is just bloody miserable, there are simply better solutions for most places than that. Electric snowmobile anyone? There were about 4 families of kids that came to school all winter by ski-doo in my home town so it definitely works, especially with heated seats and grips. Not to mention 1/4 the required road/trail infrastructure (summer bike/running trails doubling as sled commuter ways in winter) with substantially less parking space required as well.

 

[ferris209]

Crap like this is why a basic car is $35k nowadays.

 

[axiomatic13]

"Excuse me sir. Sir?! Could you come here and breathe start my car?"

 

[p51d007]

More JUNK added to a vehicle to make it more expensive to purchase, and more expensive to repair when it conks out.

 

[GoldenGoat]

You don't need to worry about it.... because you won't be able to afford a car. Most of us already can't.

 

[takaozo]

Like you cant wear gloves and open the windows even if dead drunk. People will overcome this real easy no need to hack car computer.

 

[toooooot]

Build better smarter cities.

That won't be cheap.
Who is gonna pay for that smartness?
Even in our country, a lot of people can barely afford a rent
in a non smart place with basic commodities.
We need affordable, widely available housing, much more than anything else.
What purpose of all that great innovation in city building if it will not be available
for most of the population for tens of years.

 

[Rocky4040]

This is not gonna work, because then you'll need a sensor to confirm the driver isn't high, then one to confirm the driver isn't a complete imbecile (good luck with that one).

Policy for driving cars has always been like one with military drafting - one only needs a point finger to qualify.

Yep true one of my workers at work was telling me about a time when he just had a joint and then decided to drive and he zoned out for how long he was not sure but what brought him back was almost side swiping another car. He said that's the last time he is ever going to joint and drive ever again.

I told him having any kind of drug in your system is a recipe for disaster whether it's alcohol or as simple as some pot in your system the effects are all pretty much very much the same. They impair your abilty to think straight and bad crap happens.