Science & Technology

Cars may soon refuse to go if you are drunk

By T.K. Randall
June 9, 2015 ·  41 comments

What if your car could simply refuse to move if it thought you were intoxicated ? Image Credit: sxc.hu Alcohol and cars are two things that do not mix, so much so that researchers have spent years looking for increasingly effective ways to prevent drink-driving related accidents.

This month however the ultimate solution to the problem may have finally been found.

Unveiled by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the system works by sampling the driver's breath as they get in to the car and analyzing it to see if they are over the limit.If the driver is below the limit then the car will allow them to drive off as usual, but if they have had too much the car will literally refuse to function, rendering the inebriated driver unable to go anywhere.

The car will also stop working if it detects that a driver under 21 has been drinking anything at all.

While it seems doubtful that the system will ever become mandatory for all vehicles it certainly has the potential to avoid a great many alcohol-fueled accidents.

A video explaining in detail how the whole thing works can be viewed below.


Source: Phys.org | Comments (41)

Tags: Car, Drink-Driving