subject: Alcohol Testers In Steering Wheels Help Keep Our Roads Safe [print this page] Many people are hurt or killed each year due to drunk driving. Law enforcement wages a never ending battle to keep impaired drivers off our roadways. The main tool they use to make sure drivers comply with legal limits regarding alcohol consumption and driving is the breathalyzer. This device measures the blood alcohol content of an impaired driver. He is required to blow into the machine which then returns a reading. The legal limit for blood alcohol when driving is 0.008. When a driver exceeds that amount he can be charged with DUI. While the breathalyzer is useful, it does have its limitations. It is only useful when a drunk driver is stopped and tested. It can't do anything at all about the large numbers of drunk drivers that are not pulled over by law enforcement.
Advanced technology has brought a new device to the market to help in the battle against drunk driving. This one makes it impossible for someone to start or drive a car if he has had too much to drink. This alcohol tester is mounted on the car's dashboard and is connected to the electrical system of the automobile. The driver must blow into it before the car will start. If the levels of alcohol detected are acceptable, the car will start but if high levels of alcohol are measured, the car will not start.
Some people may try to circumvent this set-up by having someone else blow into their steering wheel breathalyzer so they can get the car started. While this may work initially to get the car to start, there is a fail safe mechanism that kicks in a little later. This device periodically and randomly requires the driver to blow into it so blood alcohol can be measured continually while driving. If levels exceed acceptable limits an alarm is activated that makes the headlights flash and the horn to honk repeatedly until the car is brought to a stop.
This indeed is a revolutionary device. Its application on all vehicles would bring about sanity on the roads and drastically reduce fatalities that needlessly occur every year because of drunken driving. These devices though hailed by others, have a number of shortcomings. Just like breathalyzers, they sometimes give false readings. Statistical reports indicate that at times these devices have mistaken cough syrup, mints and even protein bars for alcoholic substances. But you obviously are not going to try to fool the device since you are using it to stay safe.
In some states, the courts have sanctioned the installation of alcohol testing devices on vehicles of drivers seeking reinstatement after suspension for drunken driving in the past. The installation of such a device is at the expense of the driver seeking reinstatement. This device provides a lifeline for previously convicted persons to continue working and supporting their families. It also serves as a guide as to whether or not you are fit to drive; more importantly though it helps to keep you from ever drinking and getting behind the wheel.
