Alcohol Monitoring
Law enforcement is increasing the use of in-car technology to combat drunk driving. In the near future, your car’s keychain or steering wheel might contain an alcohol sensor; if you are intoxicated, your car will not start. One company is even testing a technology that bounces light against a driver’s forearm to test for high blood alcohol levels.
Such technologies are passive and could be installed on all new cars in the future. The current technology—known as the Interlock—is more “active” and obtrusive. An Interlock attaches to a car’s ignition; the offender must blow into the Interlock before the car will start. In Texas, Interlocks are usually used for repeat DWI offenders. New Mexico recently became the first state to mandate the use of Interlocks after a first offense DWI.
The use of alcohol sensors on cars will be a contentious civil liberties fight. On one hand, Mothers Against Drunk Diving and state law enforcement agencies will argue that the technology will curtail the estimated annual 13,000 drunk driving deaths in the nation. Groups worried about the Constitution will argue that installing alcohol sensors on every car encroaches on civil liberties.
Alcohol monitoring devices are expanding outside of automobiles. Often, a condition of being on bond is not to consume alcohol. Judges in Dallas and Harris Counties have ordered defendants on bond to wear “SCRAM” (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) bracelets.
The 8 ounce bracelet—which looks like a large pair of headphones—attaches around an ankle and tests the wearer’s sweat every hour for alcohol. The bracelet sends the results to a monitoring system in Denver. The SCRAM company then alerts law enforcement if the wearer has been drinking.
Courts have ordered over 1400 defendants in Dallas County to wear the SCRAM bracelet. The wearer must pay for the device which costs around $14 a day.
Such technologies are passive and could be installed on all new cars in the future. The current technology—known as the Interlock—is more “active” and obtrusive. An Interlock attaches to a car’s ignition; the offender must blow into the Interlock before the car will start. In Texas, Interlocks are usually used for repeat DWI offenders. New Mexico recently became the first state to mandate the use of Interlocks after a first offense DWI.
The use of alcohol sensors on cars will be a contentious civil liberties fight. On one hand, Mothers Against Drunk Diving and state law enforcement agencies will argue that the technology will curtail the estimated annual 13,000 drunk driving deaths in the nation. Groups worried about the Constitution will argue that installing alcohol sensors on every car encroaches on civil liberties.
Alcohol monitoring devices are expanding outside of automobiles. Often, a condition of being on bond is not to consume alcohol. Judges in Dallas and Harris Counties have ordered defendants on bond to wear “SCRAM” (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) bracelets.
The 8 ounce bracelet—which looks like a large pair of headphones—attaches around an ankle and tests the wearer’s sweat every hour for alcohol. The bracelet sends the results to a monitoring system in Denver. The SCRAM company then alerts law enforcement if the wearer has been drinking.
Courts have ordered over 1400 defendants in Dallas County to wear the SCRAM bracelet. The wearer must pay for the device which costs around $14 a day.
posted by Fred Dahr at 10:04 AM
<< Home