Should Car Alcohol Sensors Be Mandatory?

Congressman Heath Shuler (R-NC) has introduced legislation that would would fund development of alcohol detecting sensors in vehicles, and force automakers to make the equipment standard in all new vehicles.

Had this been a  law four years ago, Amir Sarhaddi might be alive today.

If ever there was a cause celebre for keeping drunk drivers off the road, it's the chain of events in the early morning hours of Oct. 28, 2007 that ended with Sarhaddi's death after a drunk driver struck and killed him while he was giving aid to another drunk driver that rear-ended a Jeep on Interstate 75 in Florida. Sarhaddi was returning home from a date night with his wife around 3 a.m. when he saw a two-car crash. He pulled over on the shoulder before getting out to help. Before he even got to the two wrecked vehicles, a car driven by Jessica Paquette sideswiped one of the wrecked cars and then fatally struck Sarhaddi. Paquette had a blood-alcohol level of 0.219 percent, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08.  The driver who caused the first wreck, James Braley, also had a blood-alcohol level of 0.219.

Amazingly, Sarhaddi was also legally drunk.

Paquette is now serving a five-year prison sentence for DUI manslaughter. Braley was acquitted in November, 2010 of the same charge, but was convicted of DUI and DUI property damage.

Sarhaddi's alcohol level was never made known to the jury in that case.

The bill, if enacted into law, would also provide funding for advancing new technology for installation in new cars. Instead of the mechanical ignition breathalyzers now used on cars driven by convicted drunken drivers' vehicles, new cars would utilize sensors that detect alcohol when drivers touch a button, perhaps to start the car, or that can "read"  the alcohol on a driver’s breath by testing the air.

Opponents say such a law is just another way of restricting our freedoms. The American Beverage Institute, which represents 40,000 restaurants in the U.S., argues that the sensors would likely be set well below the legal limit of .08 for liability reasons. So, even if a driver has just one drink, according to Institute Spokeswoman Sarah Longwell, he or she will not be able to start their car.

"What we're talking about here is Big Brother in your back seat," Langwell adds.

Predictably, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a powerful lobbyist group, wholeheartedly supports such legislation. According to MADD, in 2010 10,839 people died in drunk driving crashes -- one every 50 minutes.

MADD was instrumental in lowering the illegal Blood Alcohol Content to 0.08 from 0.10.

It is painfully obvious we as a nation have failed to stop drunken driving. Short of prohibition, social drinking will always be a part of our culture. It's also virtually impossible to force someone to not drive no matter how many beers they have belted or prior DUIs they have under their belt. Making this technology standard on all new cars is a good start, but it will take years before older models finally come off the roadways and out of reach of drunks hell-bent on driving intoxicated.

No law will bring Sarhaddi back to his wife and two children. But it could save thousands of others.