Push underway to install alcohol monitoring devices into every new vehicle in America
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KOVR/CBS Newspath/WKRC) - A push is underway to have alcohol monitoring devices installed in every new vehicle sold in America.
Nationwide one out of three fatal traffic crashes involves driving under the influence.
“30 people a day in the USA are going to die because of impaired driving,” said Rhonda Campbell, a Victim Service Specialist with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Sacramento.
Now the National Transportation Safety Board is making recommendations to try and prevent these type of tragedies, urging all new vehicles sold in America to be equipped with alcohol impairment detectors or advanced driver monitoring systems.
A DUI driver killed Campbell's sister, Irene.
"The man who killed my sister was a four-time repeat offender," she said.
The new recommendation stems from a 2021 New Year's Day crash in the Central Valley town of Avenal that killed nine people, including six children.
NTSB investigators determined that the driver of the SUV had a blood alcohol level of more than two and a half times the legal limit.
“This technology is going to help us prevent that,” said Campbell.
Many people convicted of DUI already have similar devices installed in their cars.
"I think currently they are effective... you can't start the car if you blow into the thing and it's above the legal limit," said John Campanella, a Sacramento attorney.
But questions still linger over legalities.
"What are they capturing and how accurate are the devices and who is it being reported to?" he asked.
“Drunk driving is 100-percent preventable 100-percent of the time,” said Campbell.
