Advanced car technology can accurately detect if a driver is drunk in less than a second, but it needs federal funding to be an affordable option in every car, Sen. Chuck Schumer said yesterday.
Following a July 18 limo crash that killed four women on Long Island, Schumer decided to co-sponsor a $40 million bill that would adapt the technology for regular cars on the road and make it affordable.
“At a personal level it breaks my heart to read in newspapers every day about lives snuffed out, particularly young lives,” he said.
There were nearly 360 alcohol-related traffic deaths in New York in 2013, Schumer said. New technology can detect if drivers are drunk through their touch on a steering wheel or their breath and then stop their cars from moving if they are. Schumer said he hopes the technology will be mandated for any driver with a DWI conviction.
