The Future of Auto Insurance: Too Drunk to Drive? Your Car Can Tell

Although it’s always safe to have a designated driver if you’re going to be going out for a night on the town, your friends may not have to take your keys away in a few short years. Right now, scientists and engineers are working on new technologies that will allow your car to know if you’re too drunk to drive.

Current Technologies

Now, some people are probably wondering what’s so new about it since there are already ignition interlock systems in place that require drivers to blow into them prior to going anywhere. First, these are only provided to people who have been convicted of a DUI, they’re bulky, and they’re sometimes difficult to retrofit. The idea behind the newer technologies is to prevent someone who’s had too much to drink from getting on the road in the first place. It’s thought that this will lower automobile insurance costs, prevent accidents, and lower the number of injuries and fatalities associated with alcohol.

The New Ideas

The latest technologies (those that are currently being developed) will not only require a breath-based test before the vehicle will start, but will also be able to detect alcohol in the bloodstream via touch. There are some obstacles that must be overcome, though, such as how to discern the breath of the driver from the passengers, how to handle a driver that is wearing gloves, and even what to do in the event that the devices are installed in convertibles since the extra airflow will hinder the technology. Similarly, these devices must be able to handle wildly fluctuating temperatures as it can easily climb to oven-like conditions inside of any automobile during summer months.

Expected Availability

While prototypes are expected to be in operation sometime during the year 2015, it’ll likely be a while before these devices will really start selling, and experts believe that it’s more likely that they will be installed during the manufacturing process of new automobiles rather than retrofitted. It is also expected that only high-end luxury models will come with this safety feature at first, and that such installations will trickle down to economy-class vehicles as the years go by.

The Wave of the Future

Whether or not such devices become popular with the public is yet another debate. Some groups are concerned that, with the availability of the technology, government officials at the state level will attempt to make these technologies mandatory. While parts of the population agree that this would be a fantastic idea to keeping impaired people off the road, others believe that it is an infringement on constitutional rights. However, automobile insurance companies are already on board stating that if this technology is widely accepted, they will have no problems with offering discounts to those who choose to use it.

Whether or not devices that can detect alcohol in a driver’s bloodstream will gain popularity with the public remains to be seen, but they are in development and being tested as we speak. As of 2014, there has been no mention of how much this technology will add to the price of new cars if and when it is introduced.