New Technology Targets Habitually Drunk Drivers
The U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator (NHTSA) David Strickland, on Friday, January 28, demonstrated a new technology to stop drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) technology is under development at QinetiQ North America in Waltham, Massachusetts and could soon be an option for new cars.
One system uses a touch screen to determine the driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The other system utilizes a breath reading to determine BAC. The legal limit for intoxication (DUI) in Florida is 0.08 and the car will not start if that number is reached. The DADSS is being developed under a five-year, $10 million cooperative initiative between NHTSA and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), an industry group representing most of the world’s auto makers.
NHTSA finds drivers with a BAC over 0.08 who are involved in a fatal accident are 8 times more likely to have prior convictions for drunk driving than drivers who had no alcohol in their system at the time of the wreck. In 2009, NHTSA reports 10,839 people died nationwide in crashes involving a drunk driver, which made up 32 percent of all crashes that resulted in a fatality.
The Florida drunk driving accident attorneys at Farah & Farah have seen the tragedy that results from one bad decision by a drunk driver to get behind the wheel. Our lawyers understand the complexity of Florida DUI laws and will work hard to hold negligent drivers responsible for your injuries if it is determined they were driving while intoxicated.
If you have been injured in a car crash caused by a motorist who was driving under the influence, they may be responsible for the cost of your accident including your medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, as well as pain and suffering. Farah & Farah has been specializing in car accident cases since 1979 and we will partner with you all of the way.
