Schumer, Families of Drunk Driving Victims, Local Law Enforcement and Elected Officials Push Legislation to Develop Technology to Prevent Drinkers from Driving

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, joined by Westchester Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a wife and mother of drunk driving victims, local law enforcement, and Westchester County's STOP -- DWI coordinator, pushed Schumer sponsored legislation to foster research and development of in-car technology to fight the scourge of drunk driving. Schumer's legislation would create a consortium to drastically curb drunk driving by funding a partnership between anti-drunk driving advocates, large car companies and the federal government to design devices that prevent intoxicated people from ever turning on the car.

"Drunk drivers kill hundreds of New Yorkers each year, and far too few are caught and far too many are repeat offenders," said Schumer. "It's time to take a more common sense approach to this problem, and stop drunk driving before it even starts, so that our teenagers are not given the opportunity to make the decision, and our families and law enforcement aren't put at risk by irresponsible drivers."

During an appearance in Westchester County with victims of drunk driving, law enforcement and elected officials and anti-drunk driving advocates, Schumer said that drunk driving kills thousands of people across the country every year and hundreds of people in New York -- many of them teens -- but only 2% of drunk drivers are caught. Schumer said that existing devices, such as ignition locks, are expensive and obtrusive and that future technology has to be unnoticeable, so that it doesn't inconvenience a sober driver, and so that people can choose to install it in the car of a teen who is learning to drive or going off to college.

Schumer pointed to specific high profile incidents in the area that could have been prevented using this technology. For instance, Schumer was joined by Sheila Abrams, who lost two sons to a drunk driver when the driver was allowed to get behind the wheel. Also, Schumer was joined by Carole Sears, who lost her husband to a drunk driver during a horrific accident that could have been stopped if the driver was unable to start their car. Ms. Sears is now an anti-drunk driving advocate and a representative of MADD

The Research of Alcohol Detection Systems for Stopping Alcohol-related Fatalities Everywhere (ROADS SAFE) Act, would authorize $12 million in annual funding for five years for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) program to develop in-vehicle technology to prevent drunk driving. The funding would be provided through money that the federal government has already appropriated for road safety initiatives, therefore making the legislation revenue neutral and not adding to the deficit.

NHTSA and DADSS would use the funding to explore a variety of emerging technologies designed to reduce drunken driving crashes. Currently, some devices exist to stop drunk driving, but too often the devices can be manipulated to allow a drunk driver to get behind the wheel. The legislation would promote innovations that create a fail-safe device so that no drunk driver can start their car.

This new approach would bring together the government, non-profits and car companies to form a consortium. The consortium would be tasked with developing new technologies that would curb drunk driving in a way that protects Americans on the road and allows car manufacturers to produce high quality vehicles. Under the program, the technologies explored would include devices that determine a driver's blood alcohol level by touching the steering wheel or engine start button, as well as sensors that passively monitor a driver's breath or eye movements. If the sensors indicate that the driver's blood alcohol level is over the legal limit, the vehicle would not start- stopping a drunk driver before their vehicle gets on the road and endangers others.

This legislation does not require this technology to be installed in any car, but it will give law enforcement and parents a new tool. For example, a judge could require a repeat offender to have a monitor installed in his or her car. A parent could purchase one of the steering wheels to be installed on the family car as they are teaching their teenager to drive or on a car they are sending off to college with a recent high school grad. The scourge of drunk driving in New York has continued to plague families and communities across the state. Currently, New York ranks in the top 10 in the country for alcohol related driving deaths. In 2008 alone, 472 fatalities in New York were caused by drivers that tested positive for alcohol, and 395 of those were above the legal limit.

Schumer, said that this is a particularly important time of the year to raise awareness regarding drunk driving as prom season approaches. Each year, dozens of teens are killed in alcohol related incidents driving to or from prom. The bipartisan ROADS SAFE Act was sponsored by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) and is supported by a wide range of organizations representing automakers and advocates for the prevention of drunk driving, including:

? Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

? Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers

? American Academy of Pediatrics

? The Century Council

? Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS)

? General Motors

? Governors Highway Safety Association

? Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

? National Safety Council

? Nationwide Insurance

? Safe Kids USA

Schumer added, "One person killed by a drunk driver is too many but the 280 that have been killed in the Hudson Valley since 2004 should be a wakeup call- we've got a serious problem that needs to be dealt with and this legislation will be a positive step forward to doing just that."

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