Japanese car manufacturing giant Toyota, is said to be developing an anti-drunk driving gadget that can detect high levels of alcohol on the driver and locks the ignition so you can’t start your car.
It’s not the first time such a gadget has been thought of. Several attempts have been made in the past to attempt something similar, but naysayers have managed to either state it can easily be bypassed, or that it is unworkable. Some in the United States, have even gone so far as to say that it infringes on their rights, even though recidivist drunk drivers have to have similar devices fitted to their cars. But this is the first time a major manufacturer has mooted the idea of making a drunk-driving gadget as standard. Could it lead to a downturn in drunken driving related accidents? Well, yes and no. It would suggest that it will never stop the hardcore alcoholics who do everything drunk – whether it be cooking dinner or driving an SUV erratically on the road. But, there are a tonne of people, who are generally responsible, but for one reason or another every so often take the risk of driving when they shouldn’t. For these folk, it would probably be a sober reminder that a taxi might be a better idea. Already skeptics are talking about the various ways you could get around the ignition being locked and that it would not do any good. However, I think this misses the point. The reason for having such a device is to stop you doing something you might otherwise do, that could result in either harming yourself or a innocent third party. It’s almost as if some critics see the device as an excuse for attempting a behaviour that we all know is wrong, and yet it is somehow intrusive to their driving experience – at the end of the day you have to want to have the device in the first place. If you don’t want it, then don’t buy a Toyota if it comes standard.