Wednesday 23rd June 2004

Saab Stop Drunks

New alco-key could be standard issue for companies concerned about drunk employees

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Last year over 15% (500) deaths on Britain’s roads involved drivers who were over the legal limit (that's more than for speeding). And in Europe, EU figures show that the death of 25 per cent of all drivers in road accidents could be attributed to drunk driving.

Saab has now come up with a device that will stop drivers hitting the road when drunk. The Saab Alcokey concept includes a small mouthpiece in the car’s key fob. A transponder communicates with the car’s electronic control unit, immobilising the engine if a driver’s breath sample is found to contain alcohol above the permitted level.

Such a device could be made available as an accessory through Saab dealers and is currently under evaluation and development in response to increasing concern about drunk-driving among companies responsible for operating large vehicle fleets.

In commercial production the Alcokey concept would cost about 250 Euros (£165) , or a tenth of the cost of a fixed system installed inside the car.  The Alcokey concept is an adaptation of existing anti-theft technology. When the driver presses the ‘doors open’ button on the car’s remote control fob, the alcohol sensor is also switched on.

The driver then blows into a small mouthpiece at the end of the fob to provide a breath sample which passes down a small internal tube containing a semi-conductor sensor the size of a pin-head. The sample is analysed and a small green or red light on the fob is illuminated.

If the green light is shown, the key will transmit an ‘all clear’ signal to the car’s electronic control unit. This is in addition to the usual signal the key always transmits to switch off the engine immobiliser.

But if a red light is shown, the ‘all clear’ signal will not be sent and the engine will remain immobilised. The software instructing the engine immobiliser can be adjusted according to the alcohol limits in operation where the car is registered.

The current prototype Alcokey is a separate unit, about 4 in long and 1.5 in wide (10 cm/ 4 cm) and is in addition to the conventional Saab 9-5 combined key and remote control. In production, further miniaturisation would allow both to be contained in a single, pocket-sized unit.

[dinkel]

"Hello mate -hips-, are you sober-hips-?"
Yeah, I am.
"Would you -hips- please blow my key so I can -hips- start the engine of my -hips- Saab"
Yeah, sure. No problem . . .

[fto2tuscan]

not if they cross refence the breath sample with a small blood and urine test, dna, fingerprint and retina scan.



oh and honestly, would you blow into a drunk guys car keys??



atleast they're trying...

[tombaron]

Good point. But any person willing to do this for a drunk person is no better than the drink driver. What sort of person would send someone off to risk their own life and others?



>> Edited by tombaron on Wednesday 23 June 11:28

[ATG]

Or mate dunks whole thing in glass of Bells coz he thinks its funny ... or drunkard uses a crisp packet to squeeze air through the tube ...

[dinkel]

tombaron said:

What sort of person would send someone off to risk their own life and others? >> Edited by tombaron on Wednesday 23 June 11:28

Er, your wife / friend / neighbour / kid. Happens all the time now. And worse: they are sitting next to such a driver.

You are not drunk with 2 beers in you. But you are not allowed to drive according to the law . . .

And yeah, they try and that's a good thing. Heard about this key on the radio. Journalist thought it a good but not good enough try . . .

[Jinx]

Just something else to go wrong on your car - it is bad enough when the batteries go in the fob and you get playstation thumb just trying to disable the alarm. You could asphyxiate just trying to get your car started with this thing.

[jackthedog]

So. Every time you want to start the car, you have to blow into your keyfob?

[dans]

This reminds me of Withnail and I "I have here a sample of unadulterated childs breath to get the Saab going"

[ed.]

If they can be made that cheap why not issue them to pubs, not that they could enforce it but it would help.

[Dave^]

dinkel said:

"Hello mate -hips-, are you sober-hips-?" Yeah, I am. "Would you -hips- please blow my key so I can -hips- start the engine of my -hips- Saab" Yeah, sure. No problem . . .

pissed bloke drives off.....
pissed bloke crashes into sober blokes wife and kids...
sober bloke kills himself for being a tw@.....

[burwoodman]

Agreed; at least they are trying. Like every other safety device in cars these days. The driver can immobilise them.

[Don]

OK. Its an intriguing idea. And I can see it being used as a condition of the return of a driving licence after a ban due to DD.

I don't drink and drive, apart from the occasional beer after work before going home, but no way would I ever buy a car fitted with such a device.

Nor would anyone else.

Would you buy a car fitted with a speed limiter? I think not.

[gt5s_1985]

Don said:

OK. Its an intriguing idea. And I can see it being used as a condition of the return of a driving licence after a ban due to DD. I don't drink and drive, apart from the occasional beer after work before going home, but no way would I ever buy a car fitted with such a device. Nor would anyone else. Would you buy a car fitted with a speed limiter? I think not.

Would you buy one if your insurance company gave you a price break, knowing that your risk of driving drunk would decrease?

If I didn't have anything to fear from the device, and if my insurance would go down then I might consider it. I don't see the incentive otherwise, though.

And I would NOT buy a car with a speed limiter, regardless of insurance breaks...