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NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

ntsb.gov

121–130 of 212 posts

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#121

"43,000 people were killed last year, the greatest number in 16 years" True, but there were also 250 billion more miles traveled than 16 years ago and a population of roughly 40 million more people. So though the raw number is higher, the traffic fatalities per mile traveled and per capita is actually lower than it was back then.

Doesn't matter. That sentence is going to be read aloud on every television news program, and copied in every article about this, and is never going to be given any context. It's verbatim from the press release. That's how mainstream news works in the US, especially when it's a government press release. Putting a US government press release into context sounds like a very Russian or Chinese thing to do.

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#122
post #80

"43,000 people were killed last year, the greatest number in 16 years" True, but there were also 250 billion more miles traveled than 16 years ago and a population of roughly 40 million more people. So though the raw number is higher, the traffic fatalities per mile traveled and per capita is actually lower than it was back then.

'Safety' is going to be the thing that kills personal liberty in this country.

Would you be okay with a drunk driver killing one of your family members? What if that could be prevented with tech like this? Does your personal liberty outweigh the need to keep people safe from tons of metal hurtling at them at insane speeds?

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yes, scooters and bicycles with electric motors are held to higher standards than cars when it comes to speed/power and it makes no sense

Scooters and bicycles have absolutely zero crush zone and have way more potential for serious injuries.

isn't that also true for motorcycles, which aren't held to the same standard?

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#124
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I swear I saw this in a movie. Demolition Man? Judge Dredd?

Demolition man. Iconic scene where he gets a bunch of tickets for using profanity as a substitute for toilet paper. What a bizarre movie and what a bizarre idea of a future that was.

Bizarre? Sounds like you don't know how to use the 3 shells

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#125
Always interesting to see HN's take on regulation vs. liberties. Everyone here has benefited from regulations in various industries, so why are you complaining for this one?

Cameras aside, I don't see what 'personal liberty' you lose by not being able to drive while drinking. You don't have a right to drive, it's a privilege. If I can encourage technology and regulation to get people who unnecessarily put my life in danger off the roads, then I'm all for it.

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#126

Maybe they can also have GPS, so we can track who visits an abortion clinic. Or maybe we should just test for HCG along with alcohol and report HCG drops to the govt.

Many cars nowadays already have GPS that can be remotely accessed by the automaker. A few years back, I worked on a telematics integration that accessed GPS data on cars and retrieved my own vehicle's location data from a service run by my automaker that I never explicitly opted into.

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#127
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Safety' is going to be the thing that kills personal liberty in this country.

Would you be okay with a drunk driver killing one of your family members? What if that could be prevented with tech like this? Does your personal liberty outweigh the need to keep people safe from tons of metal hurtling at them at insane speeds?

> Does your personal liberty outweigh the need to keep people safe from tons of metal hurtling at them at insane speeds?

I don't see why not, as the US was founded on the principle behind this.

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#128
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Safety' is going to be the thing that kills personal liberty in this country.

Would you be okay with a drunk driver killing one of your family members? What if that could be prevented with tech like this? Does your personal liberty outweigh the need to keep people safe from tons of metal hurtling at them at insane speeds?

By your rationale why don’t you give up cars? If you care for your loved ones so much, Han them from using cars.

Does your personal liberty outweigh the need to keep your family safe from tons of metal hurtling at them at insane speeds?

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#129
Why don't we try actively enforcing and severely punishing drunk drivers instead of giving them back their licenses after a slap on the wrist?

Why is the default here to go the overcomplicated solution and reduce everyone's privacy by pointing cameras at them in their personal vehicles instead? This smacks of the same uninformed decision making that leads to some startup reinventing the bus as an idea for an app every other year.

Furthermore it continues to ignore any solution that hinges on addressing the real issue (alcohol abuse) and burdens the millions of Americans that don't even drink.

Re: NTSB Calls for Alcohol Detection Systems in All New Vehicles

#130
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Safety' is going to be the thing that kills personal liberty in this country.

Would you be okay with a drunk driver killing one of your family members? What if that could be prevented with tech like this? Does your personal liberty outweigh the need to keep people safe from tons of metal hurtling at them at insane speeds?

Freedom is the notion that it is more important to protect the innocent than to punish the guilty. The burden of proof falls to those who would abrogate our liberty, to show beyond a shadow of doubt that their measures will be effective and worthwhile. The standard of evidence must be higher than "I think it'll work!" Prove that it will really prevent those deaths before you get a second word.
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