US Safety Board Wants Cars to Check Drivers for Alcohol Use

US Safety Board Wants Cars to Check Drivers for Alcohol Use

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is recommending that all new vehicles in the United States have blood alcohol monitoring systems. The systems are designed to stop people who have had too much to drink from driving.

If the recommendation is approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), it could reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes, one of the biggest causes of highway deaths in the United States.

NHTSA said this week that road deaths in the U.S. are at crisis levels. Nearly 40,000 people were killed last year, the greatest number in 16 years, as Americans returned to the roads after pandemic stay-at-home orders.

The agency says 11,654 people died in 2020 from alcohol-related crashes. That is the most recent year the data is available. That number represents about 30 percent of all U.S. traffic deaths.

The NTSB, which has no legal power and can only ask other agencies to act, said the recommendation is designed to put pressure on NHTSA to take action. It could be effective as early as three years from now.

"We need NHTSA to act. We see the numbers," NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy said. "We need to make sure that we're doing all we can to save lives."

The NTSB, she said, has been pushing NHTSA to explore alcohol monitoring technology since 2012. "The faster the technology is implemented² the more lives that will be saved," she said.

The recommendation also calls for systems to monitor a driver's behavior, making sure they are paying attention, or alert. She said many cars now have cameras pointed³ at the driver, which could possibly limit drunk driving.

But Homendy says she also understands that perfecting the alcohol tests will take time. "We also know that it's going to take time for NHTSA to evaluate what technologies are available and how to develop a standard," she said.

The agency and a group of 16 automakers have been supporting research on alcohol monitoring since 2008. They formed a group called Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety.

The group has hired a Swedish company to research technology that would automatically test a driver's breath for alcohol and stop a vehicle from moving if the driver has had too much to drink, said Jake McCook, spokesman for the group. The driver would not have to blow into a tube. Instead, a sensor⁴ would check the driver's breath, McCook said.

Another company is working on light technology that could test for blood alcohol in a person's finger, he said. Breath technology could be ready by the end of 2024, while touch technology would come about a year later.

It could take one or two more model years after carmakers get the technology for it to be in new vehicles, McCook said. Once the technology is ready, it will take years for it to be in most of the cars on U.S. roads.

Under last year's law to rebuild highways, the U.S. Congress required NHTSA to make automakers install alcohol monitoring systems within three years. The law does not name the exact technology, only that it must "passively monitor" a driver to see if they are affected⁵ by alcohol.

Words in This Story

recommend -- v. to suggest that someone do (something)

monitor -- v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check (something) for a special purpose over a period of time

highway – n. a main road that connects cities, towns, etc.

implement¹ – v. to begin to do or use (something, such as a plan) : to make (something) active or effective

evaluate -- v. to judge the value or condition of (someone or something) in a careful and thoughtful way

standard – n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable

passively – adv. used to describe someone who allows things to happen or who accepts what other people do or decide without trying to change anything

1 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

2 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。