Toyota develops system that will shut down the car if the driver is drunk

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Article here.

This new system will use sensors in the steering wheel to detect, supposedly through the driver’s sweat, whether it is being driven by someone intoxicated. If this is the case, it will automatically shut the vehicle down.

I have to wonder whether this is a good idea. I would think that any system that would shut down the car automatically would be asking for trouble. I hope they get all the kinks worked out, and are 100 percent certain of it, before these new cars are released - instead of waiting until a few people perish because their cars shut down in the path of an oncoming truck or train, and then issuing a recall.

Also, couldn’t someone fool the system by wearing a pair of calfskin driving gloves, or sunglasses?

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I’m wondering how the “puplis not in focus” system would work for drivers with a prosthetic eye.

This is really crossing the line…I don’t want to be on the road with a drunk driver, but I really don’t want to be on the road with cars that cut out spontaneously. How would they guarantee that it’s failsafe? Would there be a backup computer for the car cutoff routine?

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I have to question whether a person who drives drunk from time to time would buy a car with this feature. I feel like this would only be effective if it were mandatory in all new cars, and that would be unbelievably hard to mandate, nor am I sure that type of thing should be mandated.

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And, having posted, I am immediately struck with the answer to my question: Parents of teenagers would buy such a system, because they probably don’t drink but are afraid the teenager will. Should have thought that through.

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What about fatigued drivers, they may also exhibit some of the ocular symptoms of inebriated drivers

more to the point, why not simply have the vehicle refuse to start if the driver is intoxicated, none of this “shutting down” crap, you really think an impaired driver will know how to responsibly deal with a car that suddenly just cuts out on them, if anything it’d add to the panic of dealing with a “dying” car

automation can only go so far, just pop in a breathalyzer and link it to the vehicle ignition system, blow into the breathalyzer, if you pass, you can start the car, fail, the car won’t start

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What we really need is a system that won’t allow stupid, inattentive, cell-phone-talking, make-up-applying, coffee-drinking hamburger eaters who smoke to drive a car.

I’ll take drunks over them any day. They are easy to spot.

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Yay. Another car-bashing thread courtesy of Argent Towers!

Folks, seriously. Toyota makes cars that spit baby foxes and daffodils out the tailpipes. What person really thinks that Toyota would make such a system, foolproof or otherwise, which would shut the car down to the point where it was uncontrollable while in motion? I know Argent doesn’t really consider the meaning of progress when it comes to technology and design in modern automobiles, but here’s the real story (which anyone could find if they’d simply read about it before commenting) …

The system doesn’t place the driver or other drivers in any danger. If the blood alcohol level is significant enough to the point where the driver is above the limit, then the car will not start. If it doesn’t immediately pick up on the presence of alcohol in the system and determines that it’s high enough to warrant a shutdown, then it slows the car to a stop and prevents it from moving within moments of it getting underway. The system would not allow the driver to get very far at all. Yes, I am sure there are probably ways of defeating this, and yes, I’m certain people would try, but that isn’t the point.

Devices like this already exist, and while it’s true they’re far from accurate, the most commonly known device works using a breathalyzer mechanism that must be operated before the starter motor will engage. They are commonly installed in the vehicles of repeat DUI offenders, and while they do work well, they do so almost to a fault … they are overly sensitive. You could be chewing gum, a throat lozenge, or having just consumed a sugary drink that has fermented and it will set it off. You could be painting or licking envelopes or working in an environment with potent chemicals, and it will set it off. You could be wearing a shade of green that it doesn’t like, and it will set it off. They are far from perfect and a lot more could be done to make them work the way they should, because even they can be defeated if the potential offender has a sober friend to blow into it for them.

This thread reminds me of the airbag deal in the 80’s, when there was talk about the use of airbags if they don’t deploy when they’re supposed to and actually doing more harm than good to drivers who would first hit the wheel and then be blasted back into their seat, effectively suffering two extreme impacts in a very short time. Please relax … if anyone can refine this technology and make it safe, transparent, and relatively easy to live with, I’m sure it’s Toyota. And if it does work, you can bet other manufacturers will probably aspire to emulate it. If it can’t be made safe, it won’t reach production. Cars are not going to start shutting down on train tracks or veering into oncoming traffic any more than they already do. Toyota’s products may be fairly clinical in design, pedestrian in character, and utilitarian in nature, but one can’t deny that they make some incredibly dependable and efficient machines. No matter how this plays out, I can only imagine it will be progress when compared with the current technology that’s available for preventing impaired drivers from driving, and I applaud Toyota for the innovative effort.

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How is being somewhat skeptical of a system that seems to invite failure (and lawsuits for Toyota itself) “car-bashing?” What, you don’t expect anyone to be asking these questions? I’m just going by what I read in the article.

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They already have these in certain states, installed as part of a court order for DWI convictions. (I had the pleasure of witnessing such a system in action while hitching a ride with a co-worker in NC)

These systems also require one to blow into the breathalyzer every 5-10 minutes while the car is running too. I don’t know what happens if you fail, but I hope it doesn’t immediately shut the car off. That would be pretty dumb.