Should Restaurants Be Wary of Anti-DUI Technology?
A beverage-industry lobbyist claims the alcohol-detection technology pushed by carmakers to reduce drunk driving will curb responsible drinking.
By David Farkas, Senior Editor -- Chain Leader, 7/1/2009
 |
|
Beverage lobbyists warn that social drinking will dry up if all cars are equipped ignition interlock technology. |
A beverage lobbyist is criticizing U.S. automakers for attempting to prevent the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
The American Beverage Institute, which advocates for bars and restaurants, says it doesn't makes sense for car companies to accept government bailouts while spending time on a campaign to eliminate social drinking. "It's a matter of priorities," declares ABI Managing Director Sarah Longwell. "You have these car companies closing plants and cutting jobs; you have to wonder whether it's worthwhile for them to put money and lobbying efforts into activist groups like MADD [Mothers Against Drunk Driving]."
MADD Money
What sparked ABI's ire was Congressional testimony on Monday from Robert Strassburger, vice president of vehicle safety and harmonization at the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade association that promotes motor vehicle innovation.
Strassburger encouraged the Sub-Committee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection to approve MADD's request for $30 million to support "advanced technology research" into the area of ignition interlocks. The funds would be included in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill.
The trade group, whose members include Detroit's Big Three automakers, already supports MADD's Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, which urges states to adopt laws that mandate the installation of alcohol ignition interlocks, or breathalyzers, on vehicles driven by convicted drunk drivers. Drivers must blow into it to start the vehicle. The devices, which record a driver's blood-alcohol concentration, will prevent the engine from starting if the BAC registers greater than .025.
Thirteen states have ignition-interlock laws on their books. "In New Mexico, the first state to adopt such a mandate, alcohol-involved crashes are down 30 percent, injuries are down 32 percent, and fatalities are down 22 percent," Strassburger said.
Anti-DUI Technology
Strassburger mentioned that his group is part of a $10 million cooperative agreement to research in-vehicle alcohol-detection technologies aimed at reducing drunk-driving-related fatalities and injuries. The research is sponsored in part by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Strassburger also told the sub-committee that alcohol-detection technology "holds promise for keeping alcohol-impaired drivers off the road by preventing drivers with a blood-alcohol concentration at or above the legal limit of 0.08 from operating a vehicle."
To ABI's Longwell, that's code for eventually putting ignition interlocks into every car, which she claims is MADD's goal for such technology. "We're telling legislators there is a proper application, and that is for hard-core drinkers on their first offense. But that these devices should be put in all cars, that's going too far," she says. "The public will reject it."
Related Content
Related Content
View All Blogs
