The National Transportation Safety Board is to implement the regulation that requires all vehicles sold in the US to include blood alcohol monitoring systems. The NTSB sent the recommendation to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday after completing a which involved drunk driving and the deaths of two adults and seven children.
“Technology could have prevented this harrowing accident, just as it can prevent the tens of thousands of deaths from drunk driving and speeding-related accidents that we see in the US each year,” he said. NTSB President Jennifer Homendy. “We need to implement the technologies that we have here and now to save lives.”
published by the NHTSA, nearly 43,000 people died on US roadways last year, marking the highest number in 16 years. While traffic deaths fell slightly between April and June, Ann Carlson, the agency’s acting administrator, said there was still a “crisis” on the nation’s highways. “We need NHTSA to act. We see the numbers”, Homendy . “We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to save lives.”
The NTSB says that all new cars sold in the US must include a built-in system that passively detects if the driver is under the influence of alcohol. He notes that such a system could be combined with advanced driver monitoring technologies to prevent accidents. Separately, the agency recommends that NHTSA encourage automakers to include technology that avoids speeding-related crashes. The NTSB does not have the authority to regulate or enforce the safety measures it suggests. It has been asking the NHTSA to explore alcohol monitoring technologies since 2012.
NHTSA is also facing pressure from Congress to require such systems. Based on last year, the agency has three years to study the feasibility of various alcohol-monitoring technologies and come up with a final set of rules. However, you can request an extension. And in the past, it has been slow to implement such requirements.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at time of publication.