Virginia: The First State Partnership

The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program, a public-private partnership between the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is developing advanced vehicle safety technology that can automatically detect when a driver is intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration at or above 0.08% — the legal limit in all 50 states except Utah (0.05%) — and prevent the car from moving. Virginia became the first state to collaborate with the DADSS Program to support the development and deployment of the DADSS technology.
Real World Testing
In 2022, the DADSS Program and the Virginia DMV began a collaboration with Schneider, the first truckload carrier to work with the Driven to Protect Initiative — marking a new milestone toward widespread deployment of in-vehicle alcohol detection technology. Building on the ongoing collaboration with JRT, this deployment is helping refine the technology by increasing the stress that the system is put under on the road, exponentially increasing the number of miles driven, and exposing the system to new drivers and a wider range of environmental conditions. In the first months, the outfitted Schneider trucks drove over 140,000 miles, collecting more than 54,000 breath samples from participating drivers.
More Resources
- Download overview about Virginia’s Driven to Protect | Virginia Initiative
- Get the facts about drunk driving – and Driven to Protect | Virginia
- Explore the free educational resources available on the Discovery Hub
- View past and upcoming events in Virginia, showcasing the technology
- Find fact sheets, videos and other resources