Summary and Evaluation of Responses Received on the Alcohol Safety Interlock System

Sussman, E. Donald · 1971 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This 1971 technical memorandum, prepared by E. Donald Sussman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), summarizes and evaluates responses to a prospectus regarding the development of an Alcohol Safety Interlock System (ASIS). The report analyzes proposals submitted by twenty-five firms and institutions, categorizing suggested technologies into three primary approaches: measurement of human performance, personal or vehicle identification, and direct detection of alcohol. The objective was to identify viable methods for preventing intoxicated individuals from operating motor vehicles. The majority of proposals focused on psychomotor performance metrics. Eight organizations suggested continuous monitoring of driving performance, such as steering inputs and acceleration patterns, which would allow vehicle operation only if driving remained non-erratic. This approach was noted for its high face validity and ability to detect intoxication regardless of blood alcohol concentration, though it could not incapacitate the vehicle. Other performance-based suggestions included divided attention tasks, pursuit tracking, compensatory tracking, simple reaction time, ocular motion, hand steadiness, critical flicker fusion frequency, and response coordination. For instance, pursuit tracking tasks showed significant performance decrements at blood alcohol concentrations as low as 0.05%, while simple reaction time devices were criticized for high inter-subject variance. Visual and ocular techniques, such as measuring focus or lateral inhibition, were deemed too complex or expensive for practical implementation. Proposals involving identification and chemical detection presented distinct challenges. Personal identification techniques, such as magnetic cards or fingerprint-coded licenses, were suggested to manage multi-user vehicles and prevent circumvention by sober drivers. Vehicle identification methods, including optical license plate readers and transponders, were evaluated as difficult to implement or easily defeated. Direct alcohol detection via breath or tissue samples was proposed by seven organizations. While chemical tests offered the advantage of direct correlation with legal blood alcohol limits, the report identified significant barriers. Existing sensors were either prohibitively expensive (e.g., mass spectrometers costing thousands of dollars) or susceptible to defeat through non-alveolar contaminants like mouthwash. Furthermore, ensuring the sample came from the driver rather than a third party remained a critical unresolved issue. The report concludes that no single technology presented in the responses was fully ready for immediate, large-scale deployment without further research and development. Continuous performance monitoring offered the most robust theoretical solution for detecting erratic driving but lacked the capability to physically prevent vehicle operation. Chemical detection provided legal clarity but faced significant cost and reliability hurdles. The evaluation highlights the trade-offs between technical feasibility, cost, and the ability to prevent system circumvention, providing NHTSA with a structured assessment of the technological landscape for alcohol interlocks in 1971.

Key finding

The evaluation of twenty-five proposed Alcohol Safety Interlock System concepts revealed that continuous performance monitoring and divided attention tasks offer strong resistance to test substitution but face implementation hurdles, while alcohol detection methods provide direct legal correlation but are currently hindered by high costs and vulnerability to defeat.

Methodology

review

Sample size: 25

Provenance

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Topics

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• alcohol detection systems
• dui enforcement
• alcohol
• dms validation

Information type

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• Methodological Resource: validation psychometrics, measurement protocol