ALCOHOL DETECTOR ON ROAD SAFETY

The device can be placed on the dashboard

and is capable of sensing whether the driver has
consumed alcohol or not. In addition to restricting
the car’s engine, it also sends an SMS to the
configured mobile numbers

Technological innovations have brought us

smarter and safer cars. Despite these
advancements, one of the greatest threats on our
roadways remains—drunk driving.

Is there a role for technology to tackle this

persistent public safety challenge?

DADSS technology

The Driver Alcohol Detection System for

Safety (DADSS) Research Program is working to
find that answer.
 What started as a strategic safety concept
has— through meticulous research and
development—become a set of working
prototypes that hold the potential to significantly
reduce the injuries and deaths caused by drunk
driving.

Driving under the influence of alcohol is a

legal offense in India as well as in many other
countries. But we still come across several
instances where people get behind the wheel
after drinking. While many people may argue that
it is no harm, we have to keep in mind that when
putting those keys in the ignition, road safety
suffers and we are risking others' lives.

To put an end to this problem of drunken

driving and promote better road safety, an
alcohol detector that can stop the vehicle’s engine
if it detects that the driver is under the influence
of alcohol.

Once completed DADSS technology

will detect when a driver is intoxicated with a
blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above
0.08 and prevent the car from moving. Two
different approaches passed the proof-of-concept
review and are being tested, modified and
reduced to a size that can fit in a car—one touch-
based and one breath-based. The touch-based
sensor measures and analyzes the blood alcohol
concentration under the skin’s surface by shining
an infrared light through the fingertip of the
driver. By measuring the reflected light, the
system can accurately determine the
concentration of alcohol. The breath-based
system measures the alcohol in a driver’s
naturally exhaled breath. A small sensor compares
the amount of carbon dioxide molecules with
alcohol molecules in a driver’s breath using
infrared light, to accurately calculate the breath
alcohol concentration.
 This technology is being developed through a
public-private partnership between the
Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, which
represents the world’s leading automakers, and
the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.

The common goal between these two

organizations is to advance alcohol detection
technology to a point where it can be integrated
into new vehicles and voluntarily offered to
customers as a safety option, similar to automatic
braking, lane departure warning and other
advanced driver-assist vehicle technologies.
Through the wide acceptance and installation of
this technology, we can work to combat the
roughly 10,000 deaths that are due to drunk
driving each year.
 While there remains a long road ahead to
make this technology concept consumer-ready, it
has made impressive progress and has led to new
patents and advancements in laser technology
and alcohol detection, as well as a broader body
of research on alcohol absorption and elimination.

To deliver a road-ready technology that’s also

consumer-ready, this technology must be fast,
reliable and accurate; small enough to fit
seamlessly into existing vehicle controls; and
sensitive enough not to hassle a sober driver
while correctly distinguishing between driver and
passenger. To get there, we need a broad team of
partners, funders, technology developers,
researchers and engineers dedicated to perfecting
this first-of-its-kind system. When we started this
work, our first charge was to build the tools that
we could use to verify and validate the devices.
They simply did not exist before with the required
high accuracy and precision. Today, our labs
contain machines that accurately simulate breath
and human tissue and allow us to test systems
repeatedly with high precision while introducing
alcohol in various concentrations.

Of course, the real test comes when humans are

factored into the equation. Researchers and
scientists at McLean Hospital Behavioral
Psychopharmacology Research Laboratory—an
affiliate of Harvard Medical School—are closely
supervising human subject testing of the DADSS
prototypes, where the precision of the alcohol
detection system meets the variability of the
human body. These tests sample a diverse array
of subjects and include laboratory simulations of
social situations such as “last call” and “social
snacking,” which may affect blood alcohol
content. When the prototypes can remain
accurate despite the real-world variety in alcohol
consumption, body type, age, ethnicity and other
influencing factors on BAC, we will be ready to
take this technology on the road.

It is these tightly measured and closely observed

tests that will be crucial to the ultimate rollout of
the DADSS technology. A serious safety issue
needs a serious solution—that’s why the
engineers and scientists involved are requiring
multiple rounds of testing to ensure accuracy and
precision in the final technology—without it, we
would not have confidence in the readings and in
the ability of the tech to help keep drivers safe.

We also want interest, understanding and

buy-in from consumers so that automakers may
integrate this technology seamlessly into all
vehicles that hit the road. DADSS is a driver
assistance system that will help drivers make
smarter decisions when it comes to getting
behind the wheel of their vehicle after drinking,
and that gives parents peace of mind when they
hand the keys to their teenage driver. In fact, the
final alcohol detection system will come with the
capability to be programmed with a zero-
tolerance policy for underage drivers, ensuring
the technology responds to the needs of the
consumer. The promise of the DADSS program has
already captured the interest of consumers and
leading safety partners, who are an integral part
of the consumer acceptance of the DADSS
technology as we gear up for rollout.

The next phase of the DADSS Program will be

collecting real-time results from field operational
tests. The tests will take place in different
temperatures, humidity, altitude and other
environmental conditions that a driver would face
in real time. These trials—scheduled for 2018—
will help us collect the data needed to perfect this
technology, and take us one step closer to the day
when consumers can walk into their dealerships
and request a vehicle with an alcohol detection
system. We are excited about our progress, but
even more excited about the program’s potential
to use technology to address a persistent public
health threat and save lives.