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Are cars coming that won’t let drunks drive?

Imagine leaving a bar at 2 a.m. on a cold rainy night, miles from anywhere, and the damn car won’t start. Because a computer chip told it you’ve had too many.

I don’t think that will sit well with the public. Too much Big Brother. It’ll make Republicans even more Republican.

When a Seattle TV station reported that Boston researchers “have developed alcohol detection sensors” that “measure a driver’s blood alcohol level” and won’t let the car start if it’s “above a certain threshold,” it asked, “are American drivers ready for [this] technology?” That’s a rhetorical question, a silly question.

The only way anybody will buy a vehicle with that device is if they have no choice, and the only way automakers will install it in vehicles is if the government orders them to. That’s a possibility; Congress and legislatures are under pressure to crack down on drunk driving. But that doesn’t mean they will.

I can see where this is likely to go. The same direction that life-saving masks and vaccines went. It’ll be politicized. Your neighbors will storm legislative buildings, and riot in public meetings, demanding “freedom” to kill you. That’s what our society is today. Selfishness has always been around, but it’s on steroids now. And the Covid-19 pandemic has given it plenty of practice, and more importantly, organization.

It’s laudable goal, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere. Anyway, drunk driving isn’t the biggest threat to life and limb anymore; guns are. Got an interlock device for firearms? One that can detect paranoia, or homicidal impulses?

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  1. Mark Adams #
    1

    A more important question is the degree of responsibility a driver of a self driving car has if the driver is drunk and allows the car to drive somewhere. It would be rather silly to have this in a self driving car if the vehicle is going to do all the driving. Now if the human is going to take over driving mid trip maybe they ought to be sober.

  2. Roger Rabbit #
    2

    True enough, but I think the bigger question is how the public will react to what surely will be seen (by some) as Big Brother. Motorcycle helmet laws are still resented (although they shouldn’t be). On the other hand, seatbelt laws seem to enjoy wide acceptance. So maybe it’s too early to tell how this would go over.