INTERLOCKS: COMING SOON to a CAR NEAR YOU

LOVE
THEM OR HATE THEM,
it appears that ignition interlocks – the breathalyzer
devices that get linked to a car’s ignition and won’t start
if the driver is intoxicated – are here to stay. Jumping on
the interlock bandwagon, several car manufacturers are
working on their own versions of the devices that would come
already installed in a new car. “Interlock devices are up to
9O percent effective in reducing repeat offenses. This
really can stop repeat offenders from continuing to drink
and drive,” says MADD CEO Chuck Hurley. Now mandatory for
repeat offenders in 19 states, ignition interlocks have been
installed in about 1OO,OOO cars. But that number is minute
compared to the 1.4 million drunken driving arrests made in
the US each year, reports CBS News transportation and
consumer safety correspondent Nancy Cordes. “We see them as
a benefit – a technology that’s being underutilized,” said
Nicole Nason of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. But that might soon change as at least four
major automakers are working on their own versions. Saab’s
AlcoKey, a key and breathalyzer in one, is already in field
trials. In Nissan’s concept, sensors in the gearshift and
seats would pick up alcohol in perspiration, while a camera
mounted on the instrument panel would detect drowsiness.
“They just touch or their regular breathing activates these
systems, and they’re able to warn them about their alcohol
level,” explains Bob Yakushi, Nissan’s director of product
safety. It’s still a good five years from reality. While
critics argue the technology isn’t foolproof, highway safety
advocates say otherwise. “They’re not that easy to defeat,
but there’s a perception out there that they are,” Nason
says. “They may have been in the beginning.” The devices
have a track record, she says, for stopping would-be drunken
drivers cold. And really, that’s the whole point.