Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog
Recently, officials with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) acknowledged the new five-year cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety to continue research on the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, or DADSS. This program is meant to launch a seamless, passive and publicly-acceptable in-vehicle technology that would help to keep a drunk driver from turning on and operating a vehicle. This project was given the green light and completely funded by Congress as a part of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) act.
“DADSS has the potential to one day eliminate drunk driving in America,” said Jan Withers, MADD National President.
Our personal injury lawyers in Massachusetts understand that we can’t always rely on drivers to make smart decisions, especially when consuming alcohol. That’s why we still lose thousands of lives on our nation’s roadways each and every year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were close to 10,000 people killed in drunk driving accidents in the U.S. in 2011. These fatalities accounted for more than 30 percent of all of the traffic accident fatalities recorded throughout the entire year.
As of now, there are two technologies that researchers are developing. Both of these technologies would be able to measure a driver’s blood-alcohol level before they are allowed to turn on a vehicle, and both of these technologies provide instant results. If the driver is above the legal limit, they wouldn’t be able to operate their vehicle.
One of the technologies uses a test that would use the driver’s breath, while the other uses a specific touch sensor. Both of them could easily be installed into vehicles and a driver would notice absolutely no difference in the driving experience.
This kind of research is critically important as drunk driving fatalities jumped in 2012 to now more than 10,000. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a system like this would help to save roughly 7,000 lives each year from these kinds of accident.
Driving while either intoxicated or drunk is dangerous and drivers with high blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) are at greatly increased risk of car accidents, highway injuries and vehicular deaths.
Despite all the warnings, public awareness and educational programs, stiffer penalties for violations, and efforts by law enforcement agencies across the nation to be more visible and diligent in protecting the highways, people will still get behind the wheel of their vehicles while intoxicated. Driving while intoxicated affects your reaction time, vision, tracking, concentration, comprehension and coordination.
Americans take 233 billion trips in cars each year. Of those, about one out of every two thousand trips are taken by those who are driving under the influence of alcohol. Yet, almost one out of every three traffic deaths involves drunk driving.
If you or a loved one was involved in a drunk driving accident in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
More Blog Entries:
NHTSA Urges Ignition Interlock Devices for all Drunk Driving Offenders, Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog, December 28, 2013
Habitual Drunk Driver Arrested In Lowell, Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog, December 1, 2013