Good development. They need to develop devices to detect driver's condition, and, if necessary, stop the car and call 911 for assistance. Given the aging population in Japan, Europe and US/Canada, more people will need this kind of protection. Imaging driving at high speed when getting a heart attack, a stroke or loss of conscious due to low blood pressure. That's terrible, but I believe technology can make it preventable.

I'm more worried about being hit by a teen driving while texting.
Can they make a thing that emits EMP every x seconds while also shielding the car? heh.

What about making BMW drivers retake their driving tests annually? That would make the roads a safer place and save many more lives. And there would be no need for this costly development! The simplest solutions are always the best

An IQ test would be just as effective.

No, IQ has nothing to do with stupidity or carelessness.
I can be the smartest guy in the universe but I can be careless and drive while drunk or texting.

Retake driving test annually? it's a hassle unless it's a law -- and why only BMW drivers?

Too bad cellphone jammers are illegal in the US else I'd put a really short range one in every teenagers car.

ok, so this technology is based under the assumption that the person who breathes into the device will be the one driving... yeah, theres no way around that....

I think that cell phones are on par with the dangers of drunk driving...think how many times have you seen a car drifting or swerving only to see its someone on a cell, or texting etc. its bad!!

Little jealous of BMW owners, eh?

Everyone get your car loaded with some breath loaded fartbags!
You know, where ever there's a lock, there's a way to circumvent it.
Will this become the new DRM for driving?

Driving while old is worse than driving while drunk. I'll be sober tomorrow, but grandpa will still be swerving all over the place. It also may be considered sexist to say that women can't drive, but I've honestly never met one that could

?
This seems kinda silly. Treating grown people like children, it is ridiculous. If this becomes popular enough and installed into newer vehicles people aren't going to respond well at all; they're just going to disable the systems or boycott the manufacturers.

Its one thing the actually protect people it quite another to treat people like babies and make them feel like they're guilty until proven innocent.

Why does everyone always say they are worried about teenagers texting and driving? ... Are 40 year olds better at texting and driving then teenagers, or am i missing something?

That is a good start. They need to develop an anti road rage device so those stupid people can stay off the road.

Well I think they just lost all potential customers for this vehicle who like to drink.

[citation] According to Toyota, the company has installed the new system on selected trucks and other vehicles, and will begin testing tomorrow, September 1; the test will conclude on November 30.[/citation]

Sounds like a fun three months of work for someone! Paid for drinking on the job....

well the article did say "The system comprises of a hand-held unit that provides a breathalyzer and a digital camera to identify the driver's face." so that camera's photo may be helpful while reviewing an accident or driving offense later. or perhaps photo recognition tech will be the next layer.

of course, creative people eventually find ways around these things. perhaps someone else will come up with a "charcoal filter" of some sort to clean one's breath in the event they have one of these doo-dads gripped to their Toyota's ignition?

... but also agreeing with derek2006 that maybe heavy drinkers with bad judgment will buy other cars (which might result in Toyota owners awarded cheaper insurance).

If they could skip the hand-held breathalyzer and make it check the air around instead, I could see this working. Damn them if I need to get my breathalyzer every time if I need to get to work or buy something at the grocery.

The big problem is that most people are idiots. Tens of thousands of people are killed by drunk drivers in the United States every year. Adults have shown time and time again that they're not capable of making rational decisions.

I agree. The idea itself is a good one, I think there SHOULD be a way to stop drunk people from driving, but this would be a HUGE hassle for everyone else.

I like this idea...

This technology has been on the market from a number of vendors, including Volvo, for several years.

It isn't foolproof, and it isn't new.

While I'm for stopping drunk driving (I work in LE) the big problem with this type of equipment (breathalyzers) is that they are susceptable to many "False Positive" readings. Brush your teeth or use a mouth wash that contains alcohol and you'll see what I mean. And yes, I know what I'm talking about. Only true way you can get an accurate BAL count is by taking a blood sample.

I once did a field breathalyzer test on a friend of mine at a cookout after he drank 1 beer. 20 minutes later he registered a .02 (legal limit is .08 or .10 depending on what state you live in). I then had him use some Scope mouthwash, waited 20 minutes and he registered a .23, more then twice the legal limit yet if he had a BAL count done using a blood sample things would have been totally different. So if you ever get pulled over for DUI and you know that you are absolutely not "intoxicated" or buzz driving demand a blood test if your state permits it.

It's not bad enough that big brother is trying to watch/hear/control everything we do, now the companies are trying to be our moral compass as well.

Evil is at it's most powerful when disguised as good.

True. In fact many states require you to install one of these devices in your car if you are a repeat offender. The digital camera and facial recognition features might be new. It will be interesting to see how well integrated these are in the devices. If they're rolling these out to corporate fleets, those fleets could have a digital image for each authorized driver. Not only would it be able to tie a driver to a BAC result, but it might even be able to lock out unauthorized drivers for specific vehicles.

Totally agree.

As someone who has gotten a DWI I can tell you with certainty that the choice to drive drunk is when you walked into the bar without a plan to get home, not when you walked out.

This is good for repeat offenders. Some of us get the point the first time.

Hell no! I have driven thousands of miles throughout Europe and one thing stands out regardless of whichever country you are in - BMW drivers (for the most part) drive like arrogant cocks. I have pointed this out to people before who have then noticed exactly what I'm talking about. Same thing applies to Audis too to an extent. Not Ferraris or Lambos etc. etc. (and I have a great car so it's not that), just Beemers. I find that they don't tend to bother indicating while changing lanes as much as drivers of other manufacturers. They seem more likely to tailgate. More likely to cruise for miles in the middle lane. More likely to be on the phone too.

Maybe this doesn't apply where you come from.

Like JC says, "the BMW. A great car - driven by cocks".

(If you own an M5, M3 a 645 or similar this isn't aimed at you. You have impeccable taste in cars and are a living legend. However, if you have an X5 you have, without a shadow of a doubt, a claim to driving like the biggest tool on Earth and deserve to be hung by your testicles until dead, dead, dead).

Good idea. I'm of the opinion that cars are too unrestricted and unregulated, and it explains why they're so dangerous. Almost any regular guy can get in a several tonne metal tin and drive it around at 40mph+.
Of course there are ways to circumvent it, but, if someone is that drunk, they won't be capable of it. And, well, the measures to circumvent it will probably require a sober person present, who probably won't want to be driven around by a drunk person.

I say anything to cut the amount of horrific road accidents down; the better.

Yes, there is something youre missing. The fact that 40year olds are much less likely to be texting while driving.