Built-in technology to detect when a driver is drunk would be a ‘game-changer,’ said Tanya Hansen Pratt, national president of MADD Canada.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
Anti-drunk-driving advocates are calling on the federal government to pledge to eventually require all new vehicles to come equipped with technology that would prevent impaired driving.
Representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Driving are meeting this week with government officials, including Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, seeking a commitment that Ottawa will make alcohol-detection systems mandatory.
“It’s a game-changer,” said Tanya Hansen Pratt, national president of MADD Canada, whose mother was killed by an impaired driver in 1999. “We’ve been fighting for decades to get people to change their behaviour, but now we’re facing a world where we can have technology change their behaviour for us.”
The built-in technology – which is still being developed – would automatically detect when motorists are drunk and prevent or limit their cars’ operation.
Options include sensors that measure drivers’ alcohol levels through their breath and fingertips, as well as scanners that assess impairment through eye and head movements. Unlike breathalyzers, the devices work passively in the background and would not require any action by motorists.
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Advocates say such innovations represent a promising frontier to combat the persistent problem of drunk driving by using non-intrusive technology to prevent intoxicated people from taking the wheel, rather than relying on police to catch impaired motorists. Drunk driving is a leading cause of road deaths in Canada, killing 521 people in 2022.
“To make progress in road safety, we really have to be open to the use of technologies to find ways to do more, to do better and to not task … officers with duties which can be done more efficiently by other means,” said Robyn Robertson, president and chief executive of the Ottawa-based Traffic Injury Research Foundation.
However, detractors have raised privacy concerns about data collection and the potential for surveillance, as well as questions about accuracy and error rates that could incorrectly prevent sober drivers from operating their vehicles or fail to detect impaired motorists.
In the United States, a 2021 federal law mandated the development of a regulatory safety standard for passive impaired-driving technology and anticipated that car and truck manufacturers would be required to roll out in-vehicle systems by as early as this year.
But the technology is still undergoing testing and is not ready for public use, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a February report to Congress.
“Nonetheless, NHTSA believes such technology, when mature, will have a dramatic impact on road safety and combatting the scourge of impaired driving,” the report says.
Opponents are working to repeal or otherwise counter the law. An amendment to block spending on developing the regulatory standard failed in January. Thomas Massie, the Republican congressman who sponsored the move, calls the technology “kill switches” that are part of an “Orwellian mandate.” Experts have said such claims are inaccurate.
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Given the uncertainty in the U.S., MADD Canada says it is essential that the federal government make a commitment to require the auto industry to install impairment-detection devices in new vehicles sold in this country once the technology is ready. The group is also calling on politicians to ensure Transport Canada has funding and political support for this work.
“We know this is going to take time,” Ms. Hansen Pratt said. “It has to be done correctly.”
A group of MADD representatives met with Mr. Anandasangaree on Monday and are scheduled to meet with other government officials and opposition politicians on Tuesday.
Simon Lafortune, a spokesman for Mr. Anandasangaree, said the minister emphasized that impaired driving “remains a serious public safety issue.” Mr. Lafortune added that Transport Canada handles decisions on vehicle standards and regulatory requirements.
“We will continue to work closely with our colleagues as they assess emerging technologies, including their effectiveness and readiness for broader implementation,” he said in an e-mail.
David Adams, president and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada, which represents Toyota, Honda and several other international brands, said manufacturers are dedicated to making vehicles safer while balancing affordability concerns.
“By and large, Canada tends to follow what the U.S. is doing. So I think we probably won’t make a ton of progress in Canada until the U.S. proceeds along,” he said.
Technology under development for potential installation in new vehicles includes passive breath and touch sensors developed by the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program, which the NHTSA set up in 2008 as a public-private partnership with the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety.
Breath sensors, which are designed to distinguish between drivers and passengers, use infrared light to measure the concentrations of alcohol and carbon dioxide in natural exhaled breath near the steering wheel. Touch sensors analyze blood alcohol levels under the skin’s surface using infrared light through the driver’s fingertips or palms and could be placed on the start button or steering wheel.
The devices are non-intrusive, unlike ignition interlock devices. The vehicle-mounted breathalyzers prevent a car from starting if the driver’s breath alcohol level exceeds a preset limit. They are typically required as part of sentences for people convicted of drunk driving.