Publications

As with any research and development effort, the DADSS Research Program has published findings throughout the process. In the links below, you can access these articles and research papers, published from 2009 through the present.

Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) – A vehicle safety technology approach to reducing alcohol-impaired driving – A status update

Proceedings of the 27th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles

Paper Number: Paper Number: 23-0287

Publish Year: Publish Year: 2023

Alcohol-impaired driving continues to take a significant toll among road users both in the United States and around the world. In 2021, an estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, a 10.5% increase from 2020. The projection is the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and the largest annual percentage increase in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s (FARS) history. In 2020, in the U.S. alone, alcohol-impaired motor vehicle fatalities totaled 11,654, a 14% increase over 2019, which
accounts for approximately 30% of all traffic fatalities in the US for the year. To better address this ongoing problem, in 2008 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) formed a cooperative research partnership to explore the feasibility, the potential benefits of, and the public policy challenges associated with the widespread use of non-invasive technologies to prevent alcohol-impaired driving. This partnership, known as the Driver
Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program has made great strides forward in the development of in-vehicle technologies that will measure blood or breath alcohol and may prevent alcohol-impaired drivers from driving their vehicles. Exploratory research in earlier phases of the program established the feasibility of two sensor approaches, breath- and touch-based, for in-vehicle use. The sensors have since been refined, in terms of both hardware and software, as the program strives to meet the performance specifications required for unobtrusive and reliable alcohol measurement.

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Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) – Risk Based Approach to alcohol sensing outcomes modeling

Proceedings of the 27th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles

Paper Number: Paper Number: 23-0291

Publish Year: Publish Year: 2023

A large number of fatal crashes every year in the United States are caused by alcohol-impaired drivers The Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration entered into a research agreement to explore the feasibility of developing a passive in-vehicle alcohol detection system, known as the Driver Alcohol Detection System for
Safety, with the goal of significantly reducing the incidence of drunk driving. This paper presents an analysis of the net benefit that could be achieved by installing such technology in the passenger vehicle fleet, using a risk-based approach to model potential outcomes. This outcomes model will calculate the net benefit of, and the public policy challenges associated with, more widespread use of non-invasive technology. Such an approach can be beneficial in determining the merits of the new technology and could be used to help guide public policy with respect to implementation. Furthermore, the technical data can be used to further refine the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety performance specifications.

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In-vehicle technology to prevent drunk driving: Public acceptance required for successful deployment

Proceeding of the 2022 Transport Research Arena (TRA) Conference

Paper Number: Volume 72, Pages 2433-2440

Publish Year: Publish Year: 2022

Drinking and driving contributes to between one-quarter and one-third of motor vehicle fatalities worldwide, resulting in an estimated 273,000 deaths annually (ITF, 2017). Over the years, multiple, mostly non–vehicle–based, countermeasures have been implemented to reduce deaths from drinking and driving. Despite their implementation and success, drunk driving continues on an unacceptable scale. In-vehicle technology like the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS), which can prevent alcohol-impaired driving at the source, can be an important part of a safe system approach. In 2020, an online survey was conducted in the US, with 1001 subjects, about public acceptance of the development and deployment of in-vehicle technology. The results showed a positive acceptance of passive touch systems and breath systems. Limitations of this study and future challenges will be discussed.

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Strategies for accelerating the implementation of non-intrusive alcohol detection systems in vehicle fleet

Traffic Injury Prevention

Paper Number: Volume 22

Publish Year: Publish Year: 2021

Crashes involving drinking drivers represent as much as one-third of all fatal crashes around the world. Progress has been made in reducing this toll through a series of interventions that attempt to discourage driving while intoxicated (DWI) and reoffending among drivers who have been convicted of DWI. However, these approaches cannot eliminate the problem. In-vehicle technologies are being developed, such as the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety—commonly referred to as DADSS—that have the potential to prevent alcohol-impaired drivers from driving their vehicles. DADSS in-vehicle sensors are designed to quickly detect whether drivers have been drinking and accurately and precisely measure blood or breath alcohol concentration. If the driver’s alcohol concentration measures at or above a set limit, the vehicle will be prevented from moving.

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Driver Alcohol Detection System For Safety (DADSS) – A Non-Regulatory Approach In The Research And Development Of Vehicle Safety Technology To Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving – A Status Update

Proceedings of the 26th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles

Paper Number: 19-0296-O

Publish Year: 2019

Alcohol-impaired driving continues to exact a significant toll among road users both in the United States and around the world. In 2017, in the U.S. alone, alcohol-impaired motor vehicle fatalities totaled almost 11,000 – a number that has seen very little change since 2009. To better address this ongoing problem, in 2008 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) formed a cooperative research partnership to explore the feasibility, the potential benefits of, and the public policy challenges associated with the widespread use of non-invasive technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving. This partnership, known as the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program has made great strides forward in the development of in-vehicle technologies that will measure blood or breath alcohol and prevent alcohol-impaired drivers from driving their vehicles. Exploratory research in Phases I and II established the feasibility of two sensor approaches, breath- and touch-based, for in- vehicle use. In Phase III, the sensors have become increasingly refined, in terms of both hardware and software, as the program strives to meet the very high standards required for unobtrusive and reliable alcohol measurement. Numerous parallel research programs are currently underway including sensor development, development of calibration processes, materials and instrumentation that will verify the technologies are meeting these elevated standards, human subject testing in conditions that replicate those likely to be experienced in the real world, and real-world pilot field operational trials in diverse settings. At the completion of this effort a determination will be made as to whether the DADSS technologies can ultimately be commercialized. This paper will outline the technological approaches and the status of the various DADSS research programs.

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

Report to Congress

Paper Number: N/A

Publish Year: 2019

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.