Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
NTSB Wants All New Vehicles to Check Drivers for Alcohol Use
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
September 20, 2022

Share

 

The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that all new vehicles in the U.S. be equipped with blood alcohol monitoring systems that can stop an intoxicated person from driving.

The recommendation, if enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, could reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes, one of the biggest causes of highway deaths in the U.S.

The new push to make roads safer was included in a report released Tuesday about a horrific crash last year in which a drunk driver collided head-on with another vehicle near Fresno, California, killing both adult drivers and seven children.

NHTSA said this week that roadway deaths in the U.S. are at crisis levels. Nearly 43,000 people were killed last year, the greatest number in 16 years, as Americans returned to roads after pandemic stay-at-home orders.

Early estimates show fatalities rising again through the first half of this year, but they declined from April through June, which authorities are hoping is a trend.

The NTSB, which has no regulatory authority and can only ask other agencies to act, said the recommendation is designed to put pressure on NHTSA to move. It could be effective as early as three years from now.

“We need NHTSA to act. We see the numbers,” NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy said. “We need to make sure that we’re doing all we can to save lives.”

The NTSB, she said, has been pushing NHTSA to explore alcohol monitoring technology since 2012. “The faster the technology is implemented the more lives that will be saved,” she said.

The recommendation also calls for systems to monitor a driver’s behavior, making sure they’re alert. She said many cars now have cameras pointed at the driver, which have the potential to limit impaired driving.

But Homendy says she also understands that perfecting the alcohol tests will take time. “We also know that it’s going to take time for NHTSA to evaluate what technologies are available and how to develop a standard.”

A message was left Tuesday seeking comment from NHTSA.

The agency and a group of 16 automakers have been jointly funding research on alcohol monitoring since 2008, forming a group called Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety.

The group has hired a Swedish company to research technology that would automatically test a driver’s breath for alcohol and stop a vehicle from moving if the driver is impaired, said Jake McCook, spokesman for the group. The driver wouldn’t have to blow into a tube, and a sensor would check the driver’s breath, McCook said.

Another company is working on light technology that could test for blood alcohol in a person’s finger, he said. Breath technology could be ready by the end of 2024, while the touch technology would come about a year later.

It could take one or two more model years after automakers get the technology for it to be in new vehicles, McCook said.

Once the technology is ready, it will take years for it to be in most of the roughly 280 million vehicles on U.S. roads.

Under last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law, Congress required NHTSA to make automakers install alcohol monitoring systems within three years. The agency can seek an extension. In the past it has been slow to enact such requirements.

The legislation doesn’t specify the technology, only that it must “passively monitor” a driver to determine if they are impaired.

In 2020, the most recent figures available, 11,654 people died in alcohol-related crashes, according to NHTSA data. That’s about 30% of all U.S. traffic deaths, and a 14% increase over 2019 figures, the last full year before the coronavirus pandemic, the NTSB said.

In the fatal crash included in the report, a 28-year-old driver of an SUV was headed home from a 2021 New Year’s Day party where he had been drinking. The SUV went off the right side of State Route 33, crossed the center line and hit a Ford F-150 pickup truck head-on near Avenal, California.

The pickup was carrying 34-year-old Gabriela Pulido and seven children ages 6 to 15 home after a trip to Pismo Beach. The truck quickly caught fire and bystanders couldn’t save the passengers, the NTSB said.

The SUV driver’s blood alcohol level was 0.21%, nearly three times California’s legal limit. He also had marijuana in his system, but the agency said the alcohol was more than enough to severely impair his driving. The SUV was traveling 88-to-98 miles per hour (142 to 158 kilometers per hour), the report said.

The crash happened less than a second from when the Journey re-entered the road, giving Pulido no time to avoid the collision, the NTSB said.

Juan Pulido, 37, whose wife and four children were killed in the crash, said he’s happy the NTSB is pushing for alcohol monitoring because it could stop another person from losing loved ones. “It’s something that their families have to live with,” he said. “It doesn’t go away tomorrow.”

Pulido’s lawyer, Paul Kiesel, says driver monitoring systems also could stop crashes caused by medical problems or drowsiness, saving anguish and billions in hospital treatment costs.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Cargo Ship Lost Power, Issued Mayday Before Hitting Baltimore’s Bridge

DON'T MISS

Boeing CEO to Exit in Broad Management Shakeup as Manufacturing Issues Plague Storied Plane Maker

DON'T MISS

BMW’s Vision Neue Klasse X Offers a Glimpse into the Future of Electric SAVs

DON'T MISS

United Airlines CEO Tries to Reassure Customers That the Airline Is Safe Despite Recent Incidents

DON'T MISS

Seat Belt Saved Passenger’s Life on Boeing 737 Jet That Suffered a Blowout, New Lawsuit Says

DON'T MISS

Federal Officials Say They’re Investigating a Tire Problem on an American Airlines Flight to LA

DON'T MISS

Skyrocketing PG&E Rates Put the Squeeze on EV Owners

DON'T MISS

United Airlines Plane Makes a Safe Emergency Landing in LA After Losing a Tire During Takeoff

DON'T MISS

US Official Says Boeing Hasn’t Turned Over Records About Work on the Panel That Blew Off a Jetliner

DON'T MISS

Biden ‘Continues to Be Fit for Duty’ His Doctor Says After President’s Annual Exam

No data was found

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

14 hours ago

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

15 hours ago

CA Insurance Market ‘in Chaos,’ Says Former Insurance Commissioner. Can Lara Fix It?

16 hours ago

Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Sets a Record After Wall Streets Breaks Out of Its Lull

16 hours ago

House Speaker Mike Johnson Headed to Fresno on April 4

16 hours ago

Bredefeld, Smittcamp Debate the Salary of Valley Children’s CEO

16 hours ago

CA’s Liberal Government Has a Long History of Caving to Special Interests

17 hours ago

Corrupt Process? Bullard, Edison Parents Blast Handling of Superintendent Search

17 hours ago

Police Had About 90 Seconds to Stop Traffic Before Baltimore Bridge Fell. 6 Workers Are Feared Dead

18 hours ago

NBC Has Cut Ties With Former RNC Head Ronna McDaniel After Employee Objections, Some on the Air

18 hours ago

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

Carmi, an incredible 1-year-old kitten mama, can be very gentle but can also get overstimulated and give love bites. Even her warm, honey-co...
Animals /

1 hour ago

Animals /
1 hour ago

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

9 hours ago

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

Composite image of President Trump and Devin Nunes
13 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

14 hours ago

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

15 hours ago

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

16 hours ago

CA Insurance Market ‘in Chaos,’ Says Former Insurance Commissioner. Can Lara Fix It?

16 hours ago

Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Sets a Record After Wall Streets Breaks Out of Its Lull

16 hours ago

House Speaker Mike Johnson Headed to Fresno on April 4

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend