Frequently Asked Questions

The DADSS Research Program is a collaborative research effort to invent, test, and deploy new alcohol detection technologies for widespread use in commercial vehicles of the future. The Program brings together the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), which represents the world’s leading automakers, and the federal government, through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in one of the most important government and private sector partnerships in transportation history. Public-private partnerships like DADSS have led to innovations that enhance our everyday lives, such as the Internet, GPS and the microchip.
The goal is to advance the existing state of alcohol detection systems by developing a first-of-its-kind technology that can passively detect when a driver is under the influence of alcohol. The technology is being designed to measure and precisely quantify when a driver is intoxicated with a BAC at or above 0.08% – the legal limit in most states – and prevent a vehicle from moving. This breakthrough technology is designed to be fast, accurate, reliable, and affordable. And unlike existing alcohol detection technologies, it is not a punitive device – it is being designed to be seamlessly installed into new vehicles and not affect normal driving behavior.

Two technologies are being developed: a breath system and a touch system. The breath system is being designed to measure and precisely quantify alcohol in a passive, non-invasive way as a driver breathes normally, when in the driver’s seat. Sensors in the vehicle cabin draw in the driver’s naturally exhaled breath, measuring the alcohol concentration through infrared light. Unlike existing breathalyzers, a forced deep lung sample into a mouthpiece is not required, making the system seamless and tamperproof. The breath system is also being designed to distinguish between the driver’s breath and any passengers.

The touch system uses tissue spectroscopy to measure blood alcohol levels under the skin’s surface by shining an infrared-light into the fingertip or palm of the driver. It is being designed to take multiple, accurate readings in a matter of seconds. While final locations are still being determined, it will likely be integrated into current vehicle controls, such as the gear shift, starter button or steering wheel.

Despite progress over the past three decades, drunk driving remains the #1 cause of fatalities on U.S. roadways, claiming more than 10,000 lives and costing the U.S. approximately $194 billion every year. With support from safety advocates and the auto industry, Congress has recognized the Program’s life-saving potential and made it part of a multi-faceted national commitment to reduce and eliminate drunk driving.

A 2020 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates that a quarter of U.S. road fatalities could be prevented and more than 9,400 lives can be saved annually if drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above the legal limit—0.08 in most states – can be prevented from operating a vehicle.

A University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) analysis concluded that over 15 years:

• Almost 59,000 deaths and approximately 1.25 million nonfatal injuries could be avoided; and an
• Estimated $342 billion in injury–related costs avoided, with the greatest benefit realized among recently legal drinking drivers.

The Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are working together in collaborative research to develop the DADSS technology. ACTS is a nonprofit organization wholly funded by the world’s leading automakers, including BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia Motors, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, 3 Stellantis, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Two technology developers are currently refining the prototypes; Senseair AB, a Swedish-based sensor company, is developing a breath system, while program engineers are working with the German laser technology company Sensalight Technologies on a touch system.

The DADSS Program began in 2008 and was focused on researching and creating proof-of-concept prototypes to determine which technological approaches were most promising for vehicle integration. After extensive research, it was determined that a breath system and touch system were most viable.

Since that time, the Program has focused on ensuring the technology meets strict performance specifications related to accuracy, precision and reliability, so sober drivers are not inconvenienced, and so drunk drivers are never allowed to operate the vehicle.

In 2018, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the first state to partner with the DADSS Program for the first trial deployment of vehicles through an initiative called Driven to Protect. This successful initiative continues to conduct in-vehicle, on-road test trials of the breath technology with sober drivers in naturalistic settings. That same year, the Program expanded on-road testing to include controlled, in-vehicle tests with drinking passengers, to determine how the sensors respond to real-world conditions. Those tests continue today through the Harvard University-affiliated McClean Hospital. In 2021, the Program announced the first-generation system equipped with the breath technology is being made available for open-source commercial licensing in fleet vehicles for the first time. ACTS will license the breath technology to any existing fleet or company that wants to outfit it into their vehicles – whether it be public or private transportation vehicles, government fleets, rental cars, trucking companies, etc. This system is designed for fleet operators implementing a zero-tolerance alcohol policy for their drivers. Also in 2021, the Program announced a trial deployment of the DADSS technology with truckload carrier Schneider. This partnership is generating hundreds of thousands of real-world operating miles, increasing the stress that the breath system is put under on the road, and exposing the system to new drivers and a wider range of environmental conditions — all key to the DADSS Program’s quest to commercialize fully passive vehicle integrated breath technology.

Today, teams of engineers, chemists and data scientists are working to reduce the size of the sensors so they are small enough to fit into passenger vehicles, can withstand harsh environmental conditions, do not require extensive calibration and can last the entire lifetime of a vehicle. Previous transportation safety innovations like airbags have taken a minimum of 20 years to be tested and approved for the public’s use, and the DADSS Program is on track to be completed in less time.

Since the program began, the following milestones have been achieved:

Invented 2 cutting-edge viable technologies: a breath system and a touch system
• Evolved 5 new generations of the touch system and 6 generations of the breath system 4
• Increased breath sensor sensitivity to alcohol by 99.79%
• Reduced the size of the breath technology by 85% and the touch technology by 89%
• Integrated 40 vehicles with test sensors, driving 65,866 miles and clocking 9,783 sensor hours over 1,600 days,
which is equal to almost 4.5 years
• Began testing the technology with everyday people on the road in specially built vehicles and in controlled,
dosed experiments in a hospital setting
• Collected 136,678 breath, blood and touch samples from 338 individuals in 443 human subject and driving
testing with the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital
• Filed or secured 63 global patents to ensure all intellectual property is open-sourced
• Built relationships with Tier 1 automotive suppliers to ensure the technology will be manufactured at a scale
and cost that makes it a viable consumer option
• Developed partnerships with state motor vehicle departments to support testing and deployment
• Began negotiations with fleet providers and electric vehicle companies on additional deployment
• Building consumer demand by demonstrating the technology at 86 local, national and international events so
that when available, the technology will have consumer demand

Today, teams of engineers, chemists and data scientists continue to evolve the technology to meet strict performance specifications and ensure the systems are fast, accurate and reliable, so sober drivers are not inconvenienced, and so drunk drivers are never allowed to operate the vehicle. Engineers are also working to reduce the size of the sensors so they are small enough to fit into passenger vehicles, can withstand harsh environmental conditions, do not require extensive calibration and can last the entire lifetime of a vehicle.

Trial deployments continue with states and private fleet companies through the Driven to Protect Initiative to conduct in-vehicle, on-road test of the breath technology with sober drivers. The Program is also in the middle of comprehensive human subject and driving tests at the Harvard University-affiliated McClean Hospital to determine how the sensors respond to real-world conditions and to ensure the highest levels of accuracy, precision and reliability are met before being introduced to consumers.

The target completion date is defined by when the Program transfers a completed DADSS design to product integrators, which include auto suppliers, auto manufacturers and others who make and install, or contract to have made, integrated and aftermarket products. It will take at least 1-2 years from there for the technology to appear in consumer vehicles, because automakers need time to integrate the system into each different make and model. The current timeline is for a fully passive breath sensor to be made available to product integrators is in the 2024-2025 timeframe, with the touch sensor’s timeline to still be determined. For more information on the technology’s timeline, click here.

Previous transportation safety innovations like airbags have taken a minimum of 20 years to be tested and approved for the public’s use, and the DADSS Program is on track to be completed in less time.

The DADSS Program is developing much more sophisticated technology than any existing ignition interlock or breathalyzer on the market today. It differs from existing alcohol detection technology in three main ways: first, 5 there will be no large pieces of hardware or equipment in the vehicle cabin, making the system seamless and tamperproof. Second, instead of requiring a forced deep lung sample from the driver, the system is being designed to take non-invasive and passive readings in a matter of seconds as the driver breaths normally, so normal driving behavior is not affected. Third, the system will meet strict performance standards related to speed, accuracy, precision and reliability that are higher than any other alcohol detection technology available today. The DADSS technology is not designed to be a punitive or corrective device, but rather the latest innovation in driver-assisted safety, much like automatic braking or lane departure warning, to save lives and make roads safer for all drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

Technologies that help drivers better perform their task – like warning of drowsiness or nearby vehicles – have come a long way, but they are prominently found in newer and luxury vehicles.

While these systems can infer certain behavior, no technology exists or is under research with the same level of sophistication as the systems being developed by DADSS to measure and quantify precise alcohol concentrations in drivers and render a vehicle inoperable. This is a key distinction, because if we are to reach the goal of saving 9,400 lives annually that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates is possible, we must put in place technology that stops drunk drivers from driving even one mile, which driver monitoring systems cannot do.

DADSS technology – measuring a driver’s precise BAC in a matter of seconds – is designed to be a much more sophisticated system. The Program’s research and the progress it has made is a true feat of biomedical engineering, unlike anything designed for vehicles before.

As driver monitoring systems evolve, they could be combined with DADSS technology in vehicles of the future for enhanced driver safety.

Developing a sensor that can quickly, reliably, and accurately measure and precisely quantify a driver’s blood alcohol concentration – without inconveniencing the sober driver – has never been done before. Part of the research includes inventing completely new equipment that also never existed to rigorously test the alcohol sensors. It also means inventing the test methods and protocols for making measurements in the part–per–billion range, the test devices for making those measurements, and the acceptance limits. As an added challenge, the sensor must be small enough to fit seamlessly into a motor vehicle; sensitive enough to measure ultra–low concentrations of alcohol; intelligent enough to distinguish between the driver and any passengers; and rugged enough to work every day of a vehicle’s 20–year life span, in all types of environmental conditions, and with little to no maintenance. And finally, it must be mass producible in automotive quantities to automotive quality standards.

A significant part of the DADSS Research Program has been the establishment of DADSS Performance Specifications related to speed, accuracy, precision and reliability. These rigorous standards are based on the U.S. Department of Defense’s technology and manufacturing readiness levels, and they are in addition to 6 manufacturers’ six-sigma quality requirements, which demand that every piece of safety equipment installed in passenger vehicles as original equipment performs correctly 99.9997% of the time.

With this combination, the DADSS technology is being held to unprecedented standards to ensure blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels are measured quickly and reliably. Not even medical instruments are engineered to have such strict specifications. The DADSS Program is being overseen by a team of engineers and scientists who are testing the technology in real-world operating conditions and will be evaluated by independent third parties before being made available to consumers.

The Program was authorized and funded under strict performance specifications based on a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of 0.08% – the legal limit in every state except Utah. While the DADSS Program is aware of the developments in Utah, they do not affect the research being conducted, and the Program will continue its direction based on the national standard of 0.08%. The exception is for underage drivers. Since no level of alcohol is legal for drivers under 21, parents could potentially have the system customized for a zerotolerance policy.

The technology is being designed so that when a driver has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above the legal limit of 0.08% – the legal limit in most states – the vehicle will start, but not move. This would allow the driver to remain warm (or cool) and safe in the vehicle, make a call for help or charge a phone. The system will reset and be ready for another test seconds after each reading and will move only when the driver’s BAC is below the legal limit. The final implementation of the system will vary by automaker. That means the location of the sensors, the actions the sensors will take, and/or the driver’s interaction with the sensors will differ greatly and depend on the individual automaker.

The system is being designed to accurately distinguish between the driver and any passengers, and this is a significant part of the required testing. The touch technology could, for example, use driver presence sensors in the front seat to confirm readings from only the driver. The breath technology is being tested with sensors near the driver’s seat to best isolate the driver’s breath. Either system will require a retest if the person in the driver’s seat gets out of the seat and another person sits down or otherwise tries to give a reading other than the driver.

The DADSS technology is designed to take the guesswork out of BAC measurement and give drivers the certainty they will never put themselves or others in danger by driving over the legal limit. The system can also give parents an extra layer of protection and additional peace of mind knowing that if their children have been drinking, they won’t be able to drive.

For the first time, all drivers will be able to take advantage of a system that is seamless and nonintrusive, representing a breakthrough in technology that can save lives and make roads safer for all drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

A key component of the Program is to develop consumer awareness and acceptance for the technology, so that once a product is made available, there is sufficient demand. In focus groups, surveys, and through demonstrations at in-person events, we know that consumers – including those who have a history of drinking
and driving – have a very positive opinion of this life-saving technology.

The DADSS Program was authorized and funded as a research program to advance the state of alcohol detection technology, and Congress did not mandate the use of any technology in the authorization. The Program’s responsibility is to provide a working product, and when the technology is finalized, it will be made available to any vehicle manufacturer. Because each car is different, each manufacturer will decide how to integrate the technology into their vehicles in their own unique way

The DADSS Program is developing new alcohol detection technologies for commercial vehicles of the future. While the breath sensor technology is being made available for licensing in fleet vehicles, that system is designed for fleet operators implementing a zero-tolerance alcohol policy for their drivers. The DADSS technology is being designed for seamless integration in commercial vehicles of the future without any large pieces of hardware or equipment in the vehicle cabin, so the system is seamless, tamperproof and does not affect normal driving behavior.

The DADSS Program was authorized and funded as a research program to advance the state of alcohol detection technology, and Congress did not mandate the use of its technology in the original authorization.

In November 2021, Congress passed and President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – which does require new passenger motor vehicles to be equipped with “advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology.” While Congress did not mandate any specific piece of technology like DADSS – in this legislation, the new law does require automakers to make standard technology that monitors driver performance, measures impairment, or both, to prevent alcoholimpaired driving fatalities.

In the coming years, the U.S. Department of Transportation will issue a rule and lay out more specific details about how automakers must comply with the technology mandate.

Whether or not the DADSS technology will become a part of this final rule remains to be seen. DADSS technology could, for example, be part of a larger technology suite that is combined with driver monitoring systems to prevent drunk driving fatalities and made standard in new vehicles of the future.

In the meantime, the DADSS technology is on track to be commercialized before the implementation of this rule.

It is important to remember that the mandate will apply to new vehicles purchased after the rule’s enactment and will not affect existing vehicles already purchased by consumers. Therefore, consumers will not be required to install the DADSS technology on any existing vehicles they have already purchased.

It’s too early to tell if the technology will add to the price of a new vehicle. If there is a cost, it is not likely to increase the price of a new car significantly. The technology could become part of a vehicle manufacture’s suite of safety technologies, like automatic braking or lane departure warning, that are standard or optional. As with 8 any new technology, the more vehicles are equipped with the system, the lower the price will be.

The DADSS technology is being designed to be a “closed loop system,” so BAC readings can’t be accessed by third parties. Program engineers, the auto industry and the federal government take privacy concerns very seriously and are working with privacy advocates to develop consumer protections related to the DADSS technology, so that safeguards are put in place to protect consumer privacy.
The sole focus of the Program is developing a system that measures a driver’s precise blood alcohol concentration. While a system could be developed that might detect when drivers are under the influence of THC, the development of such a system would present additional challenges beyond those faced by an alcohol detection technology and is not part of the DADSS Research Program’s mission. For example, drugs like marijuana linger in the system longer than alcohol, and researchers have not yet determined where the legal limit should be set. These challenges, and more, face researchers as they look at the different types of drugs that could affect safe driving behavior, whether over- the-counter, prescription or illegal.
Self-driving cars of the future could present interesting evolutions in vehicle technology and safety, but they are still in the early stages of development, while the DADSS technology is expected to become commercially available much sooner. More importantly, self-driving cars for consumer use are likely to require an unimpaired, sober driver to take control of the wheel at a moment’s notice as a precaution.