Nissan Turns to Technology to Stop Drunk Driving

StonyandCher writes with a ComputerWorld story about new efforts by Nissan to reduce the danger of intoxicated drinkers through technology. A trio of new features installed in a prototype vehicle demonstrated this past week are designed to minimize the damage a drunk behind the wheel can cause. "The first [system] attempts to directly detect alcohol in the driver's sweat and gear shift lever. A second system in the car uses a camera mounted in front of the driver to monitor eye movement. If the driver is drowsy it triggers the seat belt to tighten and this movement will hopefully snap the driver out of their drowsiness or prompt them to take a rest. A third system monitors the path of the vehicle to ensure it's traveling in a straight line and not weaving about the road, as is common with a drunken driver."

Re:Mandatory?

[Anonymous Coward]

I really hope this doesn't ever become mandatory in new vehicles in the future. I don't want to pay $2000 extra for my car when I don't drink. But if it's not made mandatory, who would buy it?

People found guilty of DUI?

In fact, I've seen ignition interlocks where the driver has to blow a breathalyzer before the car will start.

Re:Mandatory?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've seen ignition interlocks where the driver has to blow a breathalyzer before the car will start.


I've seen balloons, blown up before the drinking.

I used to like Nissan...

[LinDVD]

...until I found out how much of a bad corporate citizen they actually are. I will never buy a Nissan or Infiniti vehicle because of this incident http://www.nissan.com/Digest/The_Story.php [nissan.com], nor will I recommend Nissan/Infiniti to any of my close circle of friends.

Re:Mandatory?

[Osty]

What do you mean "who would buy it" voluntarily? Probably lots of people. I think it's a great idea. I often find myself driving home on weekends not really sure if I'm over the limit (I probably am) or not. It would be nice to have something like this to help alert me if I'm actually not sober enough to drive.

Buy yourself a portable breathalyzer [amazon.com] if you're not able to control your drinking. Not only will it let you know if you're too impaired to drive, it can also be great fun at parties. The person with the highest BAC wins! As a bonus, a portable breathalyzer can be used with any vehicle, and will likely cost much less than what Nissan will charge for this.