Drinking Games: Car Systems vs Drunk Drivers
Nissans won’t let drunk drivers at the wheel
Nissan has recently got down to testing cars equipped with drivers’ breath analyzers. The analyzer won’t allow a driver to start the car if hi is not sober. The system analyzes the alcohol level in the breathed out air, and if it is higher than the tolerable norm the ignition is automatically blocked.
At the moment this system will be installed on the cars exploited in those regions of Japan where these norms are very strict. Moreover, the testing process has just been launched and it is too early to speak about a serial application of the system.
They reckon that mass usage of analyzers is impossible in Japan now because of the lack of legislative base: the government is to decide whether the installation of the system is obligatory or optional.
Volvo as well won’t allow drunk drivers to start their engines.
From 2008 the company is planning to kick off the sales of S80, V70 and XC70 equipped with a special alco-tester which will enable to test the level of alcohol intoxication of the driver. If a drunk driver is at the wheel the system won’t let him start the car. The system which got the name Alcoguard is a tiny wireless unit. It is going to be placed in a niche behind the central console where it will be recharged.
Before starting a car the driver will have to breathe out into the device. After that the system will define the alcohol level and if it is higher than the norm the ignition blocks. If the level is all right the device sends a signal and the driver will be allowed to start the car. The driver can learn the result of the test by signal lights or by the message that is displayed on the screen of the on-board computer
The representatives of the company state that the system will be trick-resistible and one won’t be able to deceive it using a pump. Special sensors detect only methanol and the results are saved for 30 minutes after the engine is shut down.
Toyota will tackle drinking at the wheel
Toyota has announced a new system that won’t let a drunk driver use his car. With the help of special sensors (built into the rims of the steering wheel) the system defines the alcohol level and if it is higher than the norm the car will automatically come to a halt and the shout down the engine.
Moreover, the system can be used in cooperation with a special sensor that defines the manner of driving and a small camera which traces the sight of the driver – and if the system decides that the driver is too aggressive or his sight is unfocused (which speaks of tiredness) it can also brake the car to a halt.
According to the words of the representatives of the Japanese company the mass usage of the system on serial cars of the company can start as early as 2009. The system is planned to be tested first in Japan and then in all cars sold in Europe and America.
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