On Thursday, October 4, 2018, the Baker–Polito Administration announced that KEA Technologies, Inc (KEA) – the company that oversees the research and development of alcohol detection technology on behalf of the DADSS Research Program – has been awarded a Workforce Training Fund Program grant.

This grant will be used to prepare its employees and documentation for certification to both ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems) and ISO 17025 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories). This grant will cover employee training over a two-year period.

The Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) issued the following statement in response to the announcement:

“The DADSS Program relies on highly–skilled technology developers, engineers and scientists to ensure our alcohol detection system prototypes are meeting extremely high standards for accuracy and precision,” said Robert Strassburger, President and CEO of ACTS. “It is very gratifying that Massachusetts has chosen KEA for this award, which emphasizes the importance of investing in a highly–skilled workforce. Through its support of KEA, this grant will benefit the DADSS Program’s continued progress in developing and implementing methods to measure ethyl alcohol in the parts per billion range needed to verify and validate DADSS technologies.”

This project is funded by a Workforce Training Fund grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The grant program is administered by Commonwealth Corporation.

https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-announces-nearly-64-million-in-workforce-training-fund-program

Statement on Workforce Training Fund Program Grant

Today, the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) issued the following statement on 

new data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation

 through the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) showing a 1.1 percent decrease in alcohol-related traffic fatalities from 2016 to 2017:

“We are pleased that alcohol-related driving fatalities have fallen from last year. However, the families and loved ones of the 10,874 individuals who lost their lives to drunk driving in 2017 are reminded daily of their loss,” said Robert Strassburger, President & CEO. “This is why ACTS remains focused, through the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program, on developing new and innovative solutions that will save lives by ensuring that drivers over the legal limit cannot drive. We expect all drivers will one day choose to have that degree of certainty when they get behind the wheel.”

The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Research Program is a public-private partnership between the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), which represents the world’s leading automakers, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Public-private partnerships like DADSS have led to innovations that enhance our everyday lives, such as the internet, GPS and the microchip. The Program is researching a first-of-its-kind technology called the alcohol detection system that will detect when a driver is impaired with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08%, and prevent a vehicle from moving.

For more information about the DADSS program, visit 

Statement from the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, Inc on 2017 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash Data

On September 12-13, the Driven to Protect team attended the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Board of Directors Meeting in Ruckersville, Virginia.

The event provided a good opportunity for us to discuss the program and demonstrate the latest alcohol detection technology to attendees. Our goal was to have partners, supporters, and stakeholders of IIHS interact with the technology and learn about the program history and partnership between the Virginia DMV’s Driven to Protect initiative and the DADSS program. Although many attendees had not learned about the DADSS alcohol detection technology prior to the event, participants were very enthusiastic about the technology and program mission and had a number of questions for our team. We enjoyed sharing more about the Driven to Protect initiative and appreciate the support!

Driven to Protect at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Meeting

This month, the Alcohol Detection System (ADS) took a giant step out of the lab and into the real world with the launch of the in-car testing in Virginia. In a news conference on September 10, Governor Northam of Virginia launched the Driven to Protect public-private partnership, which is the first between a state government and the DADSS Program.

The event featured remarks from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam; Shannon Valentine, Virginia Secretary of Transportation; Richard D. Holcomb, Commissioner of Virginia DMV; Stephen Story, President, James River Transportation; and Robert Strassburger, President and CEO, Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS). After the program, our honored guests also got an up-close look at the technology in action.

As part of the initiative, Driven to Protect is partnering with James River Transportation, a Virginia transportation leader based in Richmond for almost 100 years, to conduct some of the first in-vehicle, on-road test trials with prototype sensors in their vehicles. The first Ford Flex vehicles equipped with the Alcohol Detection System in the James River commercial fleet started operating from Richmond International Airport and Norfolk International Airport, taking clients wherever they need to go seamlessly and integrating the prototype technology collecting real-world operational data throughout the ride.

The feedback and data collected from drivers and passengers will be invaluable in finalizing the ADS technology as it is prepared for widespread commercialization. In just its first three weeks, the James River vehicles accumulated over 10,000 miles and the ADS sensors were in operation over 1,000 hours.

Attendees also got a chance to see new developments and prototypes like the BB-13 which is equipped with a proprietary system that allows the driver to start the vehicle and administer a sample for the Alcohol Detection System by simply sitting in the seat and giving a voice command. Check out Governor Northam trying it for himself below:

For more information about the Driven to Protect initiative, you can visit 

Read more about the September 10 event here:

Northam announces new initiative to curb drunk driving

‘Driven to Protect:’ First of its technology partnership aims to combat drunk driving

Virginia becomes testing ground for new drunk driver sensor

The Launch of the Driven To Protect Public-Private Partnership

Driven to Protect partnership between Virginia DMV, James River Transportation, and automakers is the first of its kind.

RICHMOND—In a news conference held today, Governor Northam launched the Driven to Protect public-private partnership that is developing technology to eliminate drunk driving and save lives on Virginia roads. The partnership is the first between a state government and the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety Program (DADSS) to deploy in-vehicle alcohol detection sensors (ADS), which will determine when a driver is impaired with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

“Virginia’s leadership in both public safety and technological innovation makes us a natural partner to help deploy and implement this lifesaving technology,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “The Driven to Protect initiative will help combat drunk driving through innovative vehicle-based solutions that complement existing, tried-and-true traffic safety initiatives to save lives.”

“In 2017, 248 people were killed and 4,430 injured on Virginia’s roadways in alcohol-impaired crashes. Safety is our top priority,” said Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine. “DADSS holds the potential to be an integral part of making our roadways safer for all Virginians.”

As part of the initiative, Driven to Protect is partnering with 

, a transportation leader in the Richmond area for almost 100 years, to conduct some of the first in-vehicle, on-road test trials with prototype sensors in their vehicles.

Beginning last month, the first Ford Flex vehicles in the James River commercial fleet started operating from Richmond International Airport and Norfolk International Airport, taking clients wherever they need to go seamlessly and integrating the prototype technology collecting real-world operational data throughout the ride. The feedback and data collected from drivers and passengers will be invaluable in finalizing the ADS technology as it is prepared for widespread commercialization. In just the last three weeks, the James River vehicles have accumulated over 10,000 miles and the ADS sensors have been in operation over 1,000 hours.

“James River Transportation has been taking Virginians where they need to go for nearly a century and the safety of our passengers has always been of paramount importance,” said James River Transportation President Stephen Story. “We are very excited to partner with the Virginia DMV and the DADSS Program to be the first in the world to road test this safety technology in advance of it being introduced to the driving public.”

“We are developing an unobtrusive system that doesn’t hassle sober drivers to help prevent drunk driving and save lives,” said President and CEO of the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety Rob Strassburger. “The Alcohol Detection System will be offered voluntarily as a consumer option in the same way that other advanced vehicle technology features, such as lane departure warning or automatic emergency braking are offered.”

The alcohol detection system works by measuring the alcohol (ethanol) level present in a driver’s naturally exhaled breath. A small sensor analyzes only the breath molecules of the driver using infrared light. The sensor would be programmable to a zero-tolerance policy for parents of teen drivers, or to a BAC of 0.08 percent.

DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb said, “In addition to the valuable real-world information engineers will get from the James River pilot, we are working to help raise awareness of this life-saving technology.”

The DADSS Program brings together the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), a nonprofit organization wholly funded by the world’s leading automakers, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, in one of the most important government and private sector partnerships in recent years. Public-private partnerships like DADSS have led to innovations that enhance our everyday lives, such as the internet, GPS and the microchip.

Learn more about the Driven to Protect Initiative at driventoprotect.org.

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Statement on Workforce Training Fund Program Grant

Statement from the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, Inc on 2017 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash Data

Driven to Protect at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Meeting

The Launch of the Driven To Protect Public-Private Partnership

Governor Northam Launches First Real-World Testing of Innovative, In-Car Alcohol Detection Technology to Save Lives