Bedford Driving Lessons

It could be one of the most significant breakthroughs in car history. Scientists have developed a built-in alcohol-detection prototype that is able to instantly gauge whether a driver has been drinking. One sensor analyses a driver’s breath – without using a breathalyser. Other sensors measure blood alcohol content through the driver’s skin and are placed strategically on the steering wheel and door locks. Should a driver be over the legal drink-drive limit then the car’s engine will not start. It could be fitted in cars within ten years. Unlike current alcohol ignition interlock systems, the device from QinetiQ is unobtrusive and doesn’t require a driver to blow into a breath-testing device before the car can operate. Instead, it uses sophisticated sensors placed around the driver’s seat that can immediately determine whether a person has been drinking. Both the breath and skin tests would eliminate the need for drivers to take any extra steps, and those who are sober would not be delayed in getting on the road, researchers said. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week visited QinetiQ in Waltham, Massachusetts, for the first public demonstration of the system. The technology is ‘another arrow in our automotive safety quiver’, said Mr LaHood, who emphasised the system was envisioned as optional equipment in future cars and voluntary for U.S. car manufacturers. QinetiQ’s research is called Driver Alcohol Detection Systems for Safety – or Dadss. David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), also attended the demonstration and estimated the technology could prevent as many as 9,000 fatal alcohol-related crashes a year in the U.S alone. He also acknowledged that it was still in its early testing stages and might not be commercially available for eight to ten years.  More & report