In-Car Alcohol Detection Technology Follow-Up – TruTouch

Last week we asked for your opinion on in-car alcohol detection systems and whether or not they should be mandatory safety equipment. In order to keep that post to a reasonable length, we left out some information about an infrared skin alcohol detection system that seems very promising.

According to a NHTSA presentation (pdf) delivered by Dr. Susan Ferguson, infrared skin alcohol sensors have a few challenges. First, they must be able to test the “dermis” layer of the skin for alcohol, which means they must use infrared light in a very specific wavelength. Second, skin pigmentation can impact the way the light is transmitted. Finally, because they rely upon alcohol being circulated through the body, skin sensors can have a fairly significant lag time between when a drink was ingested and when it can be detected.

TruTouch has come up with a skin alcohol testing system that they believe overcomes these challenges, and it could easily be integrated into a vehicle. The system uses infrared light waves in a very specific frequency range to penetrate the outer layers of skin and measure a person’s blood alcohol level. All the user has to do is lay their arm across the device and press a few buttons.

This system - or something similar - could be integrated into vehicle armrests at some point in the future. Click on the image above to see an interactive demonstration of this system.

If this system were placed in the door of every vehicle, all a driver would need to do is place their arm on the armrest before starting their vehicle. If they “pass,” no problems. If not? No ignition.

Of course, this system could be defeated. However, used in combination with some of the other technologies, it seems feasible that cars could be able to detect drunk drivers with accuracy in the next few years. The big question, or course, is cost. TruTouch has yet to disclose the per-unit costs, but it’s likely far too expensive at this stage of the game to become standard equipment on every car…but that can change.

In the meantime, TruTouch should begin to replace many of the breathalyzers currently used by law enforcement. The touch-based system is just as accurate, but since it doesn’t require any training, any samples that have to be kept, and because there are no “per-test” costs, many local law enforcement agencies will switch to TruTouch to save money.

Recent In-Car Alcohol Detection News

Finally, in a bit of odd timing, the NY Times recently covered in-car alcohol detection systems. According to the article, there’s discussion in congress of providing NHTSA with additional funding so that they can work with auto manufacturers to develop a working prototype of this system. While it’s great to see auto manufacturers and NHTSA working together to improve vehicle safety, NHTSA’s mission isn’t to develop technology – at least it hasn’t been up to this point.

There’s also the fact that insurance companies should be providing funding for these types of safety systems. After all, they stand to save billions if a system that curtailed drunk driving could be created. Rather than federal funding, why not taking investments from Progressive, State Farm, etc?

Last, it’s important to note that there seems to be no government support for making these systems mandatory – the NY Times article specifically covers that question.