Roadside laser device detects alcohol on a driver's breath and sends data to the police

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Roadside laser device detects alcohol on a driver's breath and sends data to the police

Posted by sciencetech-blog on Monday, June 9, 2014 Label:

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Police officers may soon have a powerful new tool in their campaign against drink drivers.

A laser-based device has been developed that detects alcohol vapour inside a moving car, and could track down reckless drivers who are over the limit.

The system works by detecting tiny changes in the laser beam as it passes through vapour - and is capable of detecting alcohol at concentrations as low as 0.1 per cent.

Police officers may soon have a powerful new tool to prevent drink drivers taking to the roads. A laser-based device has been developed that detects alcohol vapour inside a car as it passes by (simulation pictured). This could catch drink drivers before they behave erratically and was created by scientists in Poland

HOW DOES THE SYSTEM WORK?

The laser system, which was created by the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, is set up on the side of the road to monitor each car that passes by.

If alcohol vapours are detected in the car, a message with a photo of the car including its number plate is sent to a police officer waiting down the road.

The police officer then stops the car and checks for signs of alcohol using conventional tests.

Researchers admitted that the device would also identify cars where the driver is sober but the passengers are not, or if there is spilled alcohol in the car.

'We are already familiar with laser instruments used by the police for speed-limit enforcement,' said Marco Gianinetto of the Polytechnic University of Milan researcher commenting on the Polish research.

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'Now these researchers have demonstrated how a laser device could be effectively used for detecting drunken drivers, and thereby helping to reduce the number of accidents caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol.

The system works by detecting tiny changes in the laser beam as it passes through the alcohol vapour. Scientists tested the device by aiming its laser at a car passing by at a distance of up to 66ft (20m). The car's interior had been filled with alcohol vapour, simulating the exhalations of a drinker inside the vehicle

The laser system, created by the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, is set up on the side of the road to monitor each car that passes by.

If alcohol vapours are detected in the car, a message with a photo of the car, including its number plate, is sent to a police officer waiting down the road.

The police officer then stops the car and checks for signs of alcohol using conventional tests.

Researchers admitted that the device would likely also identify cars where the driver is sober but the passengers are not, or if there is spilled alcohol in the car.

But, they added that the device will 'decrease the number of cars that have to be checked by police and, at the same time, will increase efficacy of stopping drunken drivers.'

Researchers claim they were able to detect the presence of alcohol vapours at concentrations as low as 0.1 per cent. The scientists did add that the device would likely also identify cars where the driver is sober, but the passengers are not, or if there is spilled alcohol in the car

Scientists tested the device by aiming its laser at a car passing by at a distance of up to 66ft (20 metres).

The car's interior had been filled with alcohol vapour, simulating the exhalations of a drinker inside the vehicle.

Researchers claim they were able to detect the presence of alcohol vapours at concentrations as low as 0.1 per cent.

'From the practical point of view, there seem to be some countermeasures, such as driving with windows open, solar screens on the side windows, etc., that can be applied by drivers to deceive the system,' the authors wrote in their conclusion.

'However, such situations are very easily detected by the system, which sends this information to the policeman indicating that the car should be checked.'

TEXTING WHILE DRIVING SLOWS REACTION TIMES MORE THAN DRINK

Drivers who use a mobile phone at the wheel should be given an automatic ban, campaigners said yesterday – after research showed it slows reactions more than drink or drugs.

A study found sending a text message delays reaction times by 37 per cent. By comparison, using cannabis slows it by 21 per cent, and drinking to the legal limit by 13 per cent.

Speaking on a handheld telephone remains the most dangerous, delaying reaction by 46 per cent, the Transport Research Laboratory found.

Using a mobile carries a £100 fine and three penalty points in the UK.

But Robert Goodwill, the road safety minister, said he was considering making a case to the Ministry of Justice for imposing tougher punishments, adding: 'I will see if we need to change the penalties.'

He also called on police to increase their action on the menace. He said: 'The best deterrent for this kind of dangerous behaviour is the certainty of being detected.'

Campaigners, including the Alliance of British Drivers, are now calling for the penalty to be raised to match the drink-driving punishment, which is an automatic year's ban and a fine.

Smartphones are now owned by nearly three-quarters of adults, with emails, social networking and maps all adding to the temptation to use them.

Department for Transport figures show that a record 378 accidents involving a mobile phone were reported in 2012 in the UK, causing 548 injuries and 17 deaths.

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