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The technology developed in the past decade to sniff out terrorist bombs eventually could be used to combat another scourge: drunk drivers.
Researchers funded by auto manufacturers and federal safety regulators are working on sensory devices – to be installed as standard equipment on all new vehicles – that would keep a vehicle from starting if the driver has had too much to drink.
„We’re five to seven years away from being able to integrate this into cars,“ said Robert Strassburger, vice president for safety for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group for the world’s major auto companies.
The new technology would not require that the driver blow into a tube, like the interlock devices some states require after drunken-driving convictions. Instead, either a passive set of sensors permanently installed in the vehicles or touch-sensitive contact points on a key fob or starter button would immediately register the level of alcohol in the bloodstream. (Source: Harvard World Health News, 01/14/11) washingtonpost.com, 01/08/11