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Toyota Creating In-Vehicle Alcohol Detection System
srizah writes "Toyota is developing an Alcohol Detection System that can detect drunken drivers and would immobilize the car when it detects excessive alcohol consumption. From the article: 'Cars fitted with the detection system will not start if sweat sensors in the driving wheel detect high levels of alcohol in the driver's bloodstream, according to a report carried by the mass-circulation daily, Asahi Shimbun. The system could also kick in if the sensors detect abnormal steering, or if a special camera shows that the driver's pupils are not in focus. The car is then slowed to a halt, the report said.'"
"I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that"
Refusing to start the car is one thing, and perfectly acceptable, but taking control away from the driver is a big no no under any circumstance.
Slowing to a halt is all good and dandy but a bit anti-clamactic. It would be much more interesting if the breaks automatically locked, the airbags went off, all of the lights inside flipping on and off like the starship Enterprise in red alert etc etc. Defintely would scare the heck out of me. Maybe they should make the system automatically put the warning flashers on too for good measure. :)
Once you start despising the jerks, you become one.
And make sure they're a size too small, just trust me on this.
Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
Remarkable how we devise elaborate technologies to serve as nannies in lieu responsible adult behavior.
Why bother.
Pfft. Gloves.
or if a special camera shows that the driver's pupils are not in focus.
Pfft. Blindfold.
You'll have to try harder than that to infringe on my freedoms, Toyota!
Hmmm... ever wonder what the term "alcohol related accidents" actually means? Here's some of the meanings:
1.) A measurable amount of alcohol means anything above .00 percent, up to and including a sip of beer or cough medicine.
2.) Drivers impaired by drugs, be it aspirin, cough syrup, crack or heroin, are often counted as drunk drivers.
3.) If a pedestrian is involved and has a measurable amount of alcohol it is considered alcohol-related.
4.) If a passenger has alcohol in his system, it is considered alcohol related.
5.) If the accident is a sober driver's fault (i.e. a sober driver runs a red light and crashes into a driver who had a beer after work) it is alcohol-related.
6.) If the residual presence of alcohol is found (an empty beer can) it is considered alcohol related, even if tests prove no one has any alcohol in their systems.
7.) The NHTSA arbitrarily adds 9% to all the alcohol-related statistics it receives from the states. Why? Because they feel like it.
8.) To further inflate the numbers, The NHTSA just started using what they call the Multiple Imputation Method to inflate alcohol-related statistics even more. The method automatically assumes that anyone involved in an accident who was not tested for BAC (probably because they were obviously sober) could actually have been drunk, and the numbers are jacked up by a set percentage.
Kind of changes the numbers a bit, doesn't it? Numbers are meaningless unless you know what they mean. But continue pushing for prohibition if you wish... but be honest at least...
All material taken from the article Fighting Madd.
Nephilium
A man who doesn't drink is not, in my opinion, fully a man. -- Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Russian author
Wikileaks, no DNS
That's what I was thinking until I read your comment and realized it's wrong. This wouldn't be nanniesm (sp?). We're not protecting your dumb drunk self from yourself, we're protecting everyone else from your dumb drunk self.
If you want to make damn sure that it isn't nanniesm, we'll put a boxing glove in ontop of the airbag to give you a broken nose if you try to operate while drunk. There. Not being a nanny, being the friend you should have with you.