Concept car gets testy with drunk drivers

A new concept car with breathalyser-like detection systems may provide even greater traction for Japanese efforts to keep impaired drivers off the road.<br /><br />Nissan's alcohol-detection sensors check odor, sweat and driver awareness, issuing a voice alert from the navigation system and locking up the ignition if necessary.<br /><br />Odor sensors on the driver and passenger seats read alcohol levels, while a detector in the gear-shift knob measures the perspiration of the driver's palm when starting the car.<br /><br />Other carmakers with detection systems include Sweden's Volvo , which has developed technology in which drivers blow into a measuring unit in the seat belt before an engine can start.<br /><br />But Nissan's car includes a mounted camera that monitors alertness by eye scan, ringing bells and issuing a voice message in Japanese or English if a driver should pull over and rest.<br /><br />The car technology is still in development, but general manager Kazuhiro Doi says the combination of detection systems will ultimately keep an eye on who's behind the wheel.<br /><br />"We've placed odor detectors and a sweat sensor on the gear shift, but for example if the gear-shift sensor was bypassed by a passenger using it instead of the driver, the facial recognition system would be used," said Doi.<br /><br />Also keeping a short leash on drivers, car seat belts tighten if drowsiness is detected, while an on-road monitor checks if a car is keeping its lane properly.<br /><br />Japan's No. 3 carmaker has no specific timetable for marketing, but aims to yoke all technology to cut the number of fatalities involving its vehicles to half 1995 levels by 2015.<br /><br />Nissan's Doi says they still have to distil exactly what impairment means: "If you drink one beer, it's going to register, so we need to study what's the appropriate level for the system to activate."

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