Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) – A Status Update

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) began research in February 2008 to try to find potential in–vehicle approaches to the problem of alcohol-impaired driving. Members of ACTS comprise motor vehicle manufacturers representing approximately 99 percent of light vehicle sales in the U.S. This cooperative research partnership, known as the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program, is exploring the feasibility, the potential benefits, and the public policy challenges of more widespread use of non-invasive technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving. The 2008 Cooperative Agreement between NHTSA and ACTS (2008 Cooperative Agreement) for Phases I and II outlined a program of research to assess the state of detection technologies that are capable of measuring blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) and to support the creation and testing of prototypes and subsequent hardware that could be installed in vehicles.