Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety: Supporting Technology Can Help End Drunk Driving

Today Robert Strassburger, President & CEO of the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, released the following statement on the annual 2019 traffic fatality data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

“While it is encouraging that drunk driving fatalities fell slightly in 2019, losing more than 10,000 lives a year is 10,000 too many,” said Robert Strassburger, President & CEO of the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), a nonprofit organization of the world’s leading light car and truck manufacturers.

“This news underscores the need to support our life-saving technology, so we can help end the persistent problem of drunk driving. That is why ACTS remains laser focused on completing the work of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program, so the new technology we are inventing can be tested, commercialized and widely deployed in vehicles as soon as possible.

“Now more than ever, Americans understand that scientific innovation can help save lives and improve public health. DADSS technologies remain the most promising and expedient pathway for preventing drunk driving fatalities on a large scale. With billions of dollars’ worth of damages, tens of thousands of lives lost, and immeasurable grief to families and communities, it is critical the development of this technology is seen through to its conclusion.”

The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) 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 http://www.dadss.org