Plans are falling into place for new technology to prevent people from driving while intoxicated.
The Technical Working Group on Advanced Impaired Driving Prevention Technology (TWG) on Tuesday released recommendations for the U.S. Department of Transportation as it works to create a new vehicle safety standard aimed at preventing drunk driving.
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included requirements for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to come up with rules for the new safety standard by 2024. The technology would be required to be built into all new vehicles beginning in 2026-27.
Experts with TWG recommend the technology should be able to detect both alcohol and dangerous driving behavior, including drugged and drowsy driving.
Specifically, the experts recommend all new cars should have technology that can measure the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) before starting a trip, either directly or by equivalence. The technology should be able to prevent the car from being operated if the driver’s BAC is at or above 0.08%.
The second of three recommendations says cars should be capable of monitoring one or more driver impairment indicators other than BAC (such as fatigue detection) and be able to provide an audible, visible, or haptic driver warning if the measure indicates that the driver is not fit to drive.
Lastly, TWG recommends encouraging incorporation of features that would “assess driver impairment during a trip and, if a driver is determined to be at or above 0.08 BAC or equivalent, respond by engaging an approach to preventing or limiting vehicle operation that is safe for all both inside and outside of the vehicle.”
It is not yet clear exactly what the technology would look like or how it would function.
The experts recommend “starting simple,” according to WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert, so the technology can get on the roads quickly. The plan also incentivizes further development of the tech to “reach more comprehensive function in subsequent years.”
Government safety regulators will consider the input from TWG as they start writing the rules for the new safety standard.
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