The Check-Up: What If Your Car Knew You Were Drunk?

Imagine this: You get convicted for drunk driving (shame on you), and as part of your sentence you have to install a miniature breathalyzer in your car. Every time you want to turn your car on, you see, you have to breathe into the device first; if it reads that you’re drunk, the car won’t turn on. Do you think it would help keep you sober?

The Dutch will soon find out. Regulators in the Netherlands have decided that the cars of convicted drunk drivers will be fitted with what’s called an “alcolock,” a breathalyzer that locks the engine if the person behind the wheel is drunk. They’ll have to drive around with the contraption for two years, with the possibility of extending it to six if the person continues to drink and drive. It’ll be interesting to see if it works—though I doubt anything like that would ever fly in the US.

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