“Stop” drunk driving starting this summer, officials say EU after making a tough decision.
According to a study by insurance company Allianz, traffic accidents involving a drunk driver are twice as likely to result in accidents. According to the World Health Organization, alcohol is responsible for 10.9% of road traffic fatalities worldwide. There appears to be a serious problem in Eastern Europe, with 18.2% of road accidents resulting in crashes, although Europe as a whole is not far behind this figure, with this type of road fatality accounting for 16.7% of all accidents.
The European Union identified the problem and began to fight it. From July 2024, every production car will have to have a port for connecting an alcohol measuring device, the so-called Alcolock.
This is a device that will check the amount of alcohol in your breath and can automatically stop the car if the value is too high. In Scandinavia it has already been introduced for professional and company car drivers, but there is currently no timetable for when its use will become mandatory in EU countries.
But since this will happen at some point, car manufacturers and their suppliers are already preparing for Alcolock era. For example, the Canadian Magna developed the corresponding technology, which it presented at the CES exhibition in Las Vegas. The system uses a camera and sensors that check the driver's breath for the amount of alcohol consumed, as well as possible drug use.
According to experts, such technologies can help reduce the number of traffic accidents primarily associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Of course, it remains to be seen how effectively they will work in practice and when they will be widely used with appropriate legislative regulation.
More Stories
Gambling: In the first half of 2024, the Greeks "put it on the line" 21.2 billion euros
"Death number" pedestrian on Iera Odos (video)
Traffic surveillance cameras never "don't go on vacation": fines of 200 euros