SCHUMER, LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ELECTED OFFICIALS PUSH LEGISLATION TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY TO PREVENT DRINKERS FROM DRIVING

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, joined by antidrunk driving law enforcement, elected officials and advocates for increased road safety, pushed Schumer cosponsored legislation to foster research and development of incar technology to fight the scourge of drunk driving.  Schumer's cosponsored legislation was originally introduced by Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico and would create a consortium to drastically curb drunk driving by funding a partnership between antidrunk driving advocates, large car companies and the federal government to design devices that prevent intoxicated people from ever turning on the car. 

 

"Drunk driving is a scourge that that takes a toll on countless families and communities across the country," Schumer said. "It's time for a fresh approach that brings the private and public sector together to keep our kids safe and our families intact."

Schumer said that drunk driving kills thousands of people across the country every year and hundreds of people in New York - many of them teens - but only 2% of drunk drivers are caught. Schumer said that existing devices, such as ignition locks, are expensive and obtrusive and that future technology has to be unnoticeable, so that it doesn't inconvenience a sober driver, and so that people can choose to install it in the car of a teen who is learning to drive or going off to college. 

 

Standing at the Chemung County Courthouse, Schumer was joined by Chemung County Deputy County Executive, Mike Krusen; Chemung County Assistant District Attorney, Susan RiderUlacco; Elmira Police Chief, Scott Drake and Chemung County DWI Coordinator, Colleen Grebleski.

 

The Research of Alcohol Detection Systems for Stopping Alcoholrelated Fatalities Everywhere (ROADS SAFE) Act, would authorize $12 million in annual funding for five years for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) program to develop invehicle technology to prevent drunk driving. The funding would be provided through money that the federal government has already appropriated for road safety initiatives, therefore making the legislation revenue neutral and not adding to the deficit.

 

 NHTSA and DADSS would use the funding to explore a variety of emerging technologies designed to reduce drunken driving crashes. Currently, some devices exist to stop drunk driving, but too often the devices can be manipulated to allow a drunk driver to get behind the wheel. The legislation would promote innovations that create a failsafe device so that no drunk driver can start their car.

 

 This new approach would bring together the government, nonprofits and car companies to form a consortium. The consortium would be tasked with developing new technologies that would curb drunk driving in a way that protects Americans on the road and allows car manufacturers to produce high quality vehicles. Under the program, the technologies explored would include devices that determine a driver's blood alcohol level by touching the steering wheel or engine start button, as well as sensors that passively monitor a driver's breath or eye movements. If the sensors indicate that the driver's blood alcohol level is over the legal limit, the vehicle would not start stopping a drunk driver before their vehicle gets on the road and endangers others.  

 

Between 2004 and 2008 a total of 156 people were killed by intoxicated drivers in the Southern Tier.  Below is a countybycounty breakdown for the region:

 

 

COUNTY	DRUNK DRIVING DEATHS FROM 20042008	DRUNK DRIVING DEATHS PER 100,000 PEOPLE IN 2008
Allegany	17	0.00
Broome	31	1.54
Chemung	10	0.00
Chenango	12	9.82
Delaware	21	4.34
Otsego	13	0.00
Schuyler	1	0.00
Steuben	27	5.18
Tioga	8	1.99
Tompkins	16	3.96
TOTAL	156

 

This legislation does not require this technology to be installed in any car, but it will give law enforcement and parents a new tool.  For example, a judge could require a repeat offender to have a monitor installed in his or her car.  A parent could purchase one of the steering wheels to be installed on the family car as they are teaching their teenager to drive or on a car they are sending off to college with a recent high school grad.  The scourge of drunk driving in New York has continued to plague families and communities across the state. Currently, New York ranks in the top 10 in the country for alcohol related driving deaths.  In 2008 alone, 472 fatalities in New York were caused by drivers that tested positive for alcohol, and 395 of those were above the legal limit. 

 

 Schumer, said that this is a particularly important time of the year to raise awareness regarding drunk driving with summer upon us. Each year, dozens of teens are killed in alcohol related incidents driving to or from prom or other summer celebrations. The bipartisan ROADS SAFE Act was sponsored by Senator Tom Udall (DNM) and Senator Bob Corker (RTN) and is supported by a wide range of organizations representing automakers and advocates for the prevention of drunk driving, including:

 

 ? Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

? Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers

? American Academy of Pediatrics

? The Century Council

? Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS)

? General Motors

? Governors Highway Safety Association

? Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

? National Safety Council

? Nationwide Insurance

? Safe Kids USA

 

 Schumer added, "All it takes is one drunk driver to rip apart a family and with 156 people killed in the Southern Tier since 2004 the status quo is something we can't afford. We need a new approach and we need to begin work on it right away."