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Can a New Awareness Program for Drunk Driving Help Reduce Fatal Car Accidents in California?

Everyone knows that drunk driving is dangerous. For this reason, some people are wondering how effective yet another awareness program would be. Today we will look at a new program in Maryland, DADSS, to determine how likely it is to be effective and whether or not it could help prevent catastrophic injuries if it were implemented in California.

The Program in Question

Maryland has gotten together with the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) to launch a program they can Drive to Protect. Initially, it will be a pilot program and its sole purpose is to keep drunk drivers off the road. The program will try out new technologies that claim to be able to reduce fatal drunk driving accidents by as much as 60%.

How the DADSS Program Works

The program works by measuring how much alcohol is on a driver’s breath when that driver exhales. The vehicle the driver is in has tiny sensors built into its panels. They use infrared light to analyze the breath of the driver. If the driver’s alcohol levels are higher than acceptable, then the vehicle will not start.

The program allows the sensor to be programmed for different levels based on who is driving. For example, an adult’s legal limit is 0.08% (in most cases) while a teen driver under the age of 21 cannot legally drive with any amount of alcohol on their breath.

The Testing Process

The Maryland Department of Transportation will be testing the technology over one year. They will monitor how the devices work and will test the devices under various factors. For example, they will look at how weather affects them, how wear and tear affect them, and other potential issues.

Drunk Driving is Extremely Dangerous

Few people argue with the statement that drunk driving is extremely dangerous. However, many people feel that they are safe to drive when in fact they have had too much to drink to safely drive. This can cause serious and potentially fatal consequences. When a person is drunk, they have impaired judgment, impaired decision-making, reduced reaction time, and a lack of coordination between their eyes, hands, and feet.

If you have been injured in a car accident in which someone was under the influence of alcohol, we urge you to contact Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 to request a legal consultation as soon as possible. There is no charge for this initial case evaluation and we can help you better understand all your options.