After ‘Horrific’ Crash, Federal Agency Calls For Alcohol Monitoring Systems In All New Vehicles

A “horrific” traffic crash in Avenal, California on New Year’s Day 2021 that killed nine – including seven children – has highlighted the need for technological solutions to stop intoxicated people from driving, and has resulted in a call for alcohol impairment detection systems to be included in all new vehicles.

The crash was caused by an impaired driver with a high level of intoxication who was operating at an excessive speed – between 88 and 98 mph, according to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the independent federal agency that has asked for the new safety standard.

​“Technology could’ve prevented this heartbreaking crash — just as it can prevent the tens of thousands of fatalities from impaired-driving and speeding-related crashes we see in the U.S. annually,” Jennifer Homendy, the NTSB’s chairperson, said in a statement. “We need to implement the technologies we have right here, right now to save lives.”​

The NTSB’s new recommendations to use in-vehicle technologies that can limit or prohibit impaired drivers from operating their vehicles and prevent excessive speeding were announced earlier this month.

These include:

• that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration require all new vehicles to be equipped with passive vehicle-integrated alcohol impairment detection systems, advanced driver monitoring systems or a combination of the two that would be capable of preventing or limiting vehicle operation if it detects driver impairment by alcohol; and
• ​incentivizing vehicle manufacturers and consumers to adopt intelligent speed adaptation systems that would prevent speed-related crashes, which it previously recommended.

Driving under the influence of alcohol remains a leading cause of traffic deaths. Since 2000, more than 230,000 people have lost their lives in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers according to NHTSA. In 2020, about 12,000 fatalities occurred in alcohol-impaired crashes, about 30% of all traffic fatalities that year and a 14% increase over the more than 10,000 people who died because of alcohol impaired crashes in 2019.

Speeding, which increases both the chances of being involved in a crash and the severity of crash injuries, is also a problem that research indicates may be getting worse, according to NHTSA.

In addition to in-vehicle alcohol detection technology, the NTSB has called for other measures to address alcohol and other drug-impaired driving crashes: lowering the blood alcohol concentration limit to .05 g/dL or lower; alcohol ignition-interlock devices for people convicted of driving while intoxicated; and that regulators develop a standard of practice to improve drug toxicology testing.

To address speeding-related crashes, the federal agency has also called for actions that combine enforcement and regulation with new technological advances like speed limiters and intelligent speed adaptation technology.

“We have to remember that technology is only part of the solution. To save lives on our roads, we need to look more broadly at the entire transportation system, which includes everything that can prevent a crash,” added Homendy, a strong supporter of the comprehensive Safe System Approach to reducing roadway deaths.

Also known as Vision Zero, the Safe System Approach to road safety, which takes human error into account, was first put into effect in Sweden in the 1990s. The goal is to eliminate all road deaths and serious injuries globally by creating multiple layers of protection – safe road users, safe vehicles, safe speeds, safe roads and robust post-crash care – so if one fails, the others will create a safety net to lessen the impact of a crash.

“The NTSB announcement is timely since NHTSA is now mandated by law,” the AAA said in a statement in support of the call to fight drunk driving with technology, referring to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, “ to develop and issue a safety standard for technology that would meet the NTSB’s recommendation within three years. Automakers would then have several more years to comply.”

The automotive group also “reminds consumers that this technology would serve as an important layer of protection against traffic injury and death at the hands of impaired drivers.” Also essential are strong DUI prevention laws, visible and equitable enforcement of those laws and “a high degree of personal responsibility that comes with the great privilege of driving.”

For more information, click here. For the full report on the Avenal, California crash, click here.