Congress Advances Mandatory Breathalyzer Devices in All Vehicles
Attempts to develop alcohol sensing devices to be built into all new vehicles raise huge questions about privacy, civil liberties, and government surveillance and monitoring.
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Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee is one of the co-sponsors of a bill to add $60 million in funding to develop these Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) systems.
But there are many serious questions about how such a system would operate, and how the government would use and control this data, as this editorial in the Tennessean suggests.
The threshold settings for warnings or violation would very likely be lower than the national blood alcohol limit of .08% BAC. But then, what does it mean if your car stops you from driving because it decides you may have had a glass or two of wine? Who is notified, and what action is taken if you are accused of driving with a legal level of alcohol of .06%, or even .o4 or .02%, the equivalent of a single drink for most people?
And of course, there are huge questions about what recourse a person might have for disputing false positives.
What is the required standard of evidence when a computer malfunction in your own car, with no one else around, can get you charged with a DUI?
Everyone agrees that drunk driving is a problem. But treating every driver as a suspect at all times is a dangerous precedent, and is a distraction from the serious business of preventing dangerous and chronic alcoholics from driving drunk.
UPDATE: Senator Corker responds to the original editorial, suggests it would be implemented on a voluntary basis.
User Comments:
Agreed. We’re not there yet, but it is scary that we are taking steps in that direction.
i am against any law that would make it manditory for all vehicles to be fitted with a breathalizer