Senators Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn. are sponsoring legislation that would allot $60 million of federal highway safety money to a government-industry research project over a five year period, according to USA TODAY.
The federal funding would create alcohol-detection devices and make them a feature on new cars within the next 10 years. The aim of this program is to eliminate drunk driving incidents in Dallasand elsewhere in the U.S.
Our Dallas car accident attorneys understand that public opinion regarding this new option sits on both sides of the fence — some hope for the change while other fear it. We do however, realize the need for strategies for keeping our roads safe.
“As long as you are under the legal limit of .08, it will operate seamlessly, and you won’t even know it’s in the vehicle,” says Robert Strassburger, safety chief for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Officials claim these devices won’t resemble the clunky ignition interlocks or “breathalyzers” currently used on the cars of some convicted drunk drivers, reports KSDK.
The proposal for this new safety feature aims to prevent the carnage caused by drunk driving — which is currently responsible for about one-third of the nation’s car accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that nearly 11,000 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving accidents in 2009, making up 32 percent of all total motor vehicle accidents. Although this number illustrated a 7.4 decrease from the previous year, officials still identify a strong need for these devices and other efforts aimed at stopping drivers from climbing behind the wheel after they’ve had too much to drink.
Texas suffered more than 3,000 fatalities from alcohol-impaired-driving accidents, ranking second in 2009 for the highest number of fatal accidents nationwide.
“We’ve worked on behavior modification for the last 30 years, but we’re still killing almost 11,000 Americans a year,” says Laura Dean-Mooney, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
Two technologies are being proposed in the production of the alcohol detection devices: sensors that detect alcohol when the driver presses a button or a gauge that tests the air from the driver’s breath, reports The Yeshiva World News.
“As long as you are under the legal limit of .08, it will operate seamlessly, and you won’t even know it’s in the vehicle,” says Robert Strassburger, safety chief for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
Alcohol-detection devices could have saved 8,000 lives in 2008 if they were installed on all cars, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
In you or a loved one have been involved in a drunk driving accident, contact the Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer Mike Goolsby of The Goolsby Law Firm for a free and confidential consultation. Call (972) 492-8758.
