Bill Would Allow Breathalyzers In Cars (would promote it, and spend $60 M in research)

[The Straight Story]

Bill Would Allow Breathalyzers In Cars

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new bill proposed by an Ohio U.S.senator was stirring up a lot of controversy on Monday when it comes to drinking and driving.

The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown and if approved, would promote the installation of interlock devices that measure the alcohol levels of drivers in cars, 10TV's Karina Nova reported.

If a driver is over the legal limit, the device would prevent the car from starting.

....

The bill, co-sponsored by Brown, an Ohio Democrat, would support adding systems to cars that detect alcohol on someone's breath before they start the car.

If approved, it would provide $60 million for more research, money that Brown said is already in the U.S. Department of Transportation's budget.

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2011/04/04/story-columbus-car-alcohol-detection.html?sid=102

$60 Million to promote and research...wonder who is going to be doing those things?

[Taverner]

1. So wait - are they going to put these in EVERYONE'S cars? In Ohio?

[The Straight Story]

3. Not just Ohio:

Proposed federal funding for alcohol-detection devices could make them available as a new car option within 10 years, but some hope — and others fret — it will speed installation in every car.

"What we'd like to see is it used as much as possible," says Laura Dean-Mooney, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Although she doesn't think the devices, which stop drunken drivers from starting their cars, will ever be mandatory, she says the devices could solve the problem.

"We've worked on behavior modification for the last 30 years, but we're still killing almost 11,000 Americans a year," she says.

Legislation sponsored by Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., would redirect $60 million in highway safety money over five years to a government-industry research project developing a prototype alcohol-detection device for cars. These aren't the clunky ignition interlocks or "breathalyzers" now used on convicted drunken drivers' vehicles that require drivers to blow into them, often repeatedly.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-03-27-alcohol-detection-in-new-cars.htm

[Taverner]

5. My guess: cheaper insurance will be the motive

If you get one, my prediction is your insurance rate will split in half

And thus, they will come standard

[customerserviceguy]

6. Guilty until you prove yourself innocent

And when one of the things malfunctions, you're not going to be able to start your car. I remember what happened when they started to put things on cars that kept them from being started unless the seat belts were fastened. The automakers backed away from that one quickly.

The anti-drinking nazis are at it again.

[hobbit709]

9. My brother had that seatbelt interlock fail one night.

Try taking the seat out, removing the relay and jumpering it(with the conveniently supplied jumper) and putting the seat back in. Now try doing this in an empty parking lot at 3 AM when it's 30 below zero.
There were MANY, MANY bad words involved.

And how many times do you hear about the drunk with one of those breathalyzer devices getting his kid to blow in it?

[customerserviceguy]

10. It would probably be easy to fool

You could have some sort of a system with a balloon, or other breath-storage device, that could be heated by contact with your body that would blow into it. Hacks would abound on the Internet.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. OLD idea.

I remember debate about that back in 1990 or so.
For some reason, it never got anywhere and that was when states had money.

[Sonoman]

4. MADD and the neo-Prohibitionists are still out there, clawing away.

I guarantee this will cause more problems than it solves.

From article at link:

"We think it's going to be set much, much lower than .08," said Sarah Longwell, spokeswoman for the American Beverage Institute. "At .02 or .025, and that's going to eliminate a person's ability to have a glass of wine with dinner, have a beer with dinner and then drive home."

That's what the fuckers are going for.

Fuck those Nazis.

Sonoman

[HopeHoops]

7. I'll volunteer to participate in the research if it means free booze.

:+

[grahamhgreen]

8. Theres 60 mil we can save.