Alcohol Detection

The current breath-based alcohol ignition interlocks have been used for more than 20 years by convicted drunk drivers to prevent them from driving while impaired by alcohol. However, deployment of current alcohol ignition interlock technology on a more widespread basis as a preventative measure is not advisable because of the intrusive nature of the technology – drivers are required to provide a breath sample each and every time before starting the vehicle.
 
Technology reviews suggest that with a dedicated research and development program and public education, non-invasive advanced alcohol impairment detection technology might be successfully deployed in the longer term. To be feasible for more widespread deployment in the vehicle fleet, alcohol impairment detection technology faces significant challenges. It is essential that these devices not slow down or impede a vehicle from starting or being driven if the driver is not alcohol impaired, so they must be fast, accurate, reliable, and repeatable. They must also be durable under a wide range of driving and environmental conditions, require little or no maintenance, and be tamper resistant. In other words their operation must be invisible to the sober driver.
 
The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center prepared a report for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that evaluated several potential technologies that could detect alcohol from air samples in the vehicle passenger compartment, through the driver’s skin using tissue spectroscopy, from emissions through the skin, from eye movements, and from driving performance. Additional technology reviews will be conducted to identify promising alternatives and research undertaken to evaluate their potential. However, it is not known at this stage whether these technologies or others yet to be identified will be successful in meeting the required specifications.