Toyota develops breathalyzer ignition-interlock, BJ McKay promises to hack it
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted August 31st 2009 4:51PM
posted August 31st 2009 4:51PM
Shoving breathalyzers into MIDs and PNDs has been all the rage overseas for quite a while, and now it looks like Toyota itself is getting in on the act. The breath-alcohol ignition-interlock system features a handset that detects alcohol on your breath (if any) and snaps your mug with a digital camera. Depending on your level of "fun" (that is, alcohol consumption) the thing can be set to alert you (in case you forgot about those three Iron Citys) or lock the vehicle's ignition altogether. In addition, it can be used to monitor vehicles of commercial fleets and notify the boss if the driver shows up sloshed. Testing of the device commences September 1st, and will go through November 30. Historians agree that had this technology been available thirty years ago, the 1970s CB radio craze could have been avoided altogether.
[Via Yahoo!]
[Via Yahoo!]
Every teen in America should have it installed in their car.
Because obviously only teenagers drink and drive, right?
please put this in your mouth and blow into it until i tell you....
no, just a little more...
Or you should stop selling drink to underage people...?
Statistically teens are more likely to claim on their insurance (for whatever reason), but there are teens who get drunk and steal cars (a small minority) and an equally small minority who go to parties, etc and drive back. The problem is relatively small compared to the number of adults who drive drunk - especially because many adults think they know their limits which may be so, but their limit and the legal limit often differ. For instance "a glass or two of wine is all i'll have, i'm driving" is probably going to be fine, but if it's a large glass you may be driving "drunk". That's why i think it's worse for adults - they may only be slightly tipsy, but they think they're safe.
In the UK the age for drinking and legally driving is the same, i'm not say we're any more responsible, but having a drinking age of 21 and a driving age of what.. 16 in some states? doesn't really strike me as logical.
In the UK you can drive at 17, but have to be 18 to buy alcohol. You can drink younger than this though.
*Doesn't want to get into arcane licencing laws*
I have a better idea, if the teen driver drunk the car will directly go to the police.
It's about time. Let's get these louts off the streets.
Iron City!!! STFU!!! Don't put that out there, it's western PA's best kept secret.
Best kept secret? Sure. Why does every single person in the world feel the need to exaggerate?
"Why does every single person in the world feel the need to exaggerate?"
Is that not, in itself, an exaggeration?
With my breath, even when totally sober this might not work as advertised, I'm afraid... :/
Stop drinking then.
Some actually suggested I should start gargle shit, at first... o_O
If you need a crutch like this you should not have a driverslicense .
If you need a nanny you should be in a pram at home instead.
The video scared me
So a sober person breathes into it and lets the "person that didn't seem that drunk" drive off ;^/
Alcohol is a beast. Just legalize (and tax) Pot already. Then all we have to worry about are drivers going to slooow...
If it's sophisticated enough it will recognize the breath of the registered driver.
People already drive too slow, thats why we have traffic. Any slower, and the earth will stop spinning.
Right, I'm just going to quit drinking and smoke weed all the time...like that's going to happen.
"Hey you, I'll give you $20 if you breath into this thing for me"
@Steve: or maybe it will have a digital camera and have facial recognition software, I dunno
and you should never drive while on any substances, alcohol or otherwise. it's completely irresponsible to believe otherwise
How will the Engadget folk drink and drive with their Zimas???
Im with Frankenstein on this one. Also, the CB radio crack was the funniest thing I ever read on engadget..
Soooo... no one can use mouthwash before their morning drive now??
It doesnt work like that. The alcohol from mouth wash evaporates much quicker from your mouth then it does from your blood stream.
You're not gonna blow over .08 with just mouthwash.
Guys, guys. Let's give the guy some credit, maybe his way of using mouthwash is to chug the whole bottle.
How about peanut butter? Will it detect thought that as well.
BJ and the Bear FTW!
You got to wonder how many human fingers and testicles that cute and cuddly "Bear" has bite off un expecting people who visit his enclosure after he was put to pasture in some old Chips home because he wasn't cute any more?
I'd support this if it is across the board for all manufacturers to install it so a drunkard won't simply by a Honda instead of a Toyota because the Honda doesn't have this installed.
So that means toyota users would be less likely to be pulled over eventually, so they'd buy a toyota and hack the thing to beat the cops who'd be fooled into thinking they can't be drunk.
And this would have stopped Ted Kennedy how?
Too soon.
This would be great for minors.
BJ and the Bear, huh? Wut happens in the sleeper cab, stays in the sleeper cab, ok?
So was there a bear, and did this bear ever fight that monkey-ape in a war?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVAP5qWnBek
This sort of thing has been out for years, I have a few friends who had to have this kind of device installed in their car because of DUI's. The thing makes you blow to start the car and then pull over and blow again every 30 minutes while you're driving or the car turns off, nothing new here.
My masters thesis for forensics was about the Intoxilyzer 5000 and all the false positives it can have. You can bet your dollar that this device will have TONS of false positives as well. People won't even be drinking alcohol and set it off.
BJ hah! and for all the MADDiots out there majority of deaths are attributed to speed not alcohol. And something worse happens daily that makes booze driving heaven, TEXTING thats right MADDists your kids do it and you don't even know it.
Iron City beer Rocks! Of all the beers in the world to choose from, you chose Iron City for your comment. Thanks. I love Iron City! Go Pittsburgh!!
There's no such thing as a good american beer. You need to expand your horizons.
Obviously you've never had Iron City Beer from Pittsburgh. That's right, you just reminded me, only real men drink Iron City Beer from the City Of Champions !!
The retarted thing about it is that no one can make someone get it. And any ways no one who drinks would ever get it. First of all the won't be alowed to drive it if u had 1 beer and the car is probably ugly and more than they want to spend.
They demonstrated something like this on Tomorrow's World years ago. It would periodically require you to retest to stop you using a bag of air you prepared earlier.
I would be willing to be cellphone usage has caused more accidents and deaths in the last 5 years than alcohol. My own survey in the middle of Central PA indicated 95% of women in a car are yammering on the phone completely unaware of anything but their own lame life.
How will the governments rescue me from the numbers of phone addicted women who are a hazard to every man woman and child anywhere close to a road???
These devices have been out for a while, some states require you to have on if you've been convicted of DUI.
step 1: blow up ten balloons when your sober
step 2: keep them in trunk
step 3: get fuhd up and use balloons to start ignition
i am an ultimate HAXORRRR
What is Up with Big companies always are striving for control!!??
first, the politics and now the carmakers!??
Hackers! Hackers! where arre you to the rescue!
I hate to break this to you Randal, you can't bypass these devices. All devices have some sort of prevention system such a "Hum Tone" as employed by Smart Start (the industry leading device). For more info on this device: www.SmartStartofCalifornia.com or www.IgnitionInterlock.com for industry info.