Thanks to New Laser Technology, Cops Could Soon be Able to Detect Drunk Drivers without Ever Pulling Them Over


BoozeLaserYou don’t have to be a genius to know that drunk driving is a terrible, unsafe and often very, very expensive idea. Regardless of how well you’ve memorized the alphabet backwards, how many hours you’ve spent practicing walking a straight line, finger held to the tip of your nose, the odds of consistently getting away with it were already pretty slim. Nevertheless, many of us are guilty of “buzzed driving”, of hopping into the car with a friend who is obviously too drunk to drive, or simply being close enough to home at the end of the night that the “Superman effect” takes over and we risk it – thinking I’ll never get pulled over, my car could drive itself home safely from here. Now thanks to researchers in Poland, avoiding a drunk driving encounter with law enforcement may be nearly impossible.

BoozeLaser2According to a study published by scientists at Warsaw’s Military University of Technology, Polish researchers have developed a device that can detect alcohol vapor inside moving vehicles by using special curved mirrors and beams of light. During the study, a laser was able to detect alcohol concentrations as low as 0.1%; in the US, a concentration of 0.08% is considered illegal. So far the device has only been tested in a system that simulated the breathing of a drunk driver, but scientists are hopeful that with actual human targets, the laser will be able to detect even lower blood alcohol contamination levels.

BoozeLaser1As with most emerging technology, it’s not quite perfect just yet. For example, open windows or driving with the AC on were able to throw off the alcohol vapor-detection system. Additionally, the laser detects any alcohol vapor in the car – not just that of the driver. So good Samaritans beware, driving a carload of your loaded friends home could result in a quick stop for you; assuming you have not been drinking that night, it would simply be an alert for police to pull over the car and check before allowing you to continue on your way.

BoozeLaser3The next phase of development for this booze laser will be making the system more compact, as well as detecting any other factors that may affect the accuracy of its readings – a necessary step before it becomes a mainstream tool for roadside alcohol detection. In any case, once the device is implemented and available to law enforcement, we could see fewer cars pulled over for random sobriety tests, leaving officers free to pursue the actual threats on the road, the truly drunk drivers.

Topics: Technology News Gadgets & Peripherals Inventions & Innovations

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