Toyota Formulates Anti-drunk Driving System

Toyota is formulating an anti-drunk system that detects drunken drivers via steering wheel-based sensors. The sensors detect the alcohol content of drivers through their sweat. If the sensors detect unusual steering or if the installed camera shows that the pupils of the driver are not focused on the road, the vehicle will be slowed to a halt.

Vehicles equipped with said detection system will not start if sweat sensors detect high alcohol consumption in the driver's bloodstream. Also incorporated in the system is the special camera that shows the driver's eyes. Said system is expected to come to the market by the end of 2009. Now, occupants of the automaker's vehicles will not only be protected by the Toyota transmission speed sensor, side and front airbags, and other safety features; they can also rely on the efficiency of the anti-drunk system.

Nissan, another Japanese automaker, has previously ventured in a system almost similar to this one. Nissan's device is called the breathalyzer. The latter is likened to the immobilizers used in the United States as part of several drunk-driving sentences. The system can also be mated to a camera in order to monitor if the driver is sleepy while driving. Saab and Volvo auto parts are also designed to complement this system. This is because Sweden has stringent laws against drunk-driving. Similar technologies like alcohol ignition interlocks are also rampant in the United States and other territories.

What triggered Toyota to formulate the anti-drunk system is the fact that drunk-driving and alcohol related accidents have surged in Japan in 2006. In August, a drunken driver collided with another vehicle carrying a family of five. The three children were killed when the vehicle fell off the bridge. The accident prompted safety roadside spot checks to be done by the police. It also was the beginning of the clamor for higher penalties relating to drunk-driving and other safety issues. With the present statistics relating to drunk-driving accidents, it is just but essential to equip vehicles with features and systems to ensure safety of the occupants.

Toyota, a Japanese multination corporation, is the second largest automaker worldwide. It is popular in the field of manufacturing automobiles, buses, trucks and robots. To measure the magnitude of its financial presence in the world, the company is the 8th largest company by revenue. Also, Toyota is expected to become the world's largest automaker this year or no later than 2008. The automaker is investing a great amount of money in cleaner-burning vehicles like the Prius and the much-awaited RAV4 that runs on hydrogen fuel cells.

Toyota is in almost every part of the globe. It has established factories and assembly plants in the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Poland, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey, France, and more recently Pakistan, India, Argentina, Czech Republic, Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Venezuela, and the Philippines.

Tracy is a 29 year old researcher and writer from Dallas, Texas with extensive experience in writing auto-related articles and covering automotive related events. She is currently a contributing writer for a leading automotive e-zine.