We all know that drinking and driving is a big no no, but yet some of us still do it anyway, or worse, we allow our friends who are clearly drunk to do it. There are breathalyzer accessories we can use with our phones to tell how much we have drunk, which is a better scenario than a cop pulling you to the side of the road and giving you the test there and then, however it looks like that could change in the future.
Polish research have recently managed to develop a laser that can be fired at cars to determine if the driver is drunk. How it works is that through the use of specially curved mirrors and beams of light, it will be able to tell the user if the driver of the car has been drinking via the detection of alcohol vapor within the vehicle.
The study has found that the device is able to detect alcohol concentrations as low as 0.1% in tests, although the scientists claim that they will be able to detect even lower concentrations, especially since the blood alcohol limit of 0.08% is what is needed in order to be considered driving while drunk.
However there are some shortcomings to this device, which is that factors like open windows, air conditioning, or drunk passengers could mess with the readings. For example you could be a good friend to drive your drunk friends home when you’re sober, but the device will still register you as drunk due to the alcohol vapors emitted by your buddies.
Despite that, the researchers claim that their creation could lead to a decrease in police checks, since the lasers can be shot from the side of the road, and also increase the ability of police to be able to detect drunk drivers.
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