WA launches initiative to end drunk driving with new technology
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- Washington joins national program testing in-vehicle alcohol detection systems
- Fleet vehicles to pilot breath-based, infrared impairment checks
- DADSS aims to reduce 10,000+ annual U.S. alcohol-related traffic fatalities
Washington is ramping up efforts to end drunk driving with an innovative “breath-based” technology.
This week Washington became the fourth state to take part in the national effort to stop drunk driving through the use of an “advanced in-vehicle alcohol detection technology,” the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) announced in a news release.
The “Driven to Protect | Washington” initiative supports the testing and development of the so-called Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS), which discerns when a driver is impaired at or beyond the legal limit. If so, then the car won’t operate.
Kristin Kingsley, director of Program Development and Outreach at the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), spoke about the technology at an event in Spokane earlier this week.
“It’s really cool, because rather than being a punitive device, it’s something that’s intended for (the) original manufacturer,” she said in a video demonstrating DADSS. “And it measures the driver’s breath quickly and accurately and reliably to make sure that you are at or below the legal limit.”
Kinglsey said that the tech would be great for fleet owners and parents of teen drivers. Eventually, she added, “when we get it to the point where it’s passive, it will be available for all motor vehicles.”
Advocates say the DADSS program has the potential to make the roadways safer, drawing parallels to past car technologies such as airbags and anti-lock brakes.
Washington’s Department of Transportation has signed up to install the tech in three fleet vehicles as part of the initiative, WTSC says. This will provide data aimed at improving DADSS for passenger-vehicle use in the future.
The system, which is in pilot testing, deploys infrared light to help determine whether alcohol is present in a driver’s breath — without needing to blow into a mouthpiece. It’ll be developed to differentiate between passengers and the driver, too.
Alcohol-related traffic fatalities in Washington have boomed by 91% over the past 10 years, according to WTSC. In 2023, 27% of all roadway fatalities in Washington involved a driver who’d been impaired by alcohol, causing 216 deaths.
Drunk driving is also a major issue across the nation: Every year, more than 10,000 people lose their lives in alcohol-related crashes.
WTSC Director Shelly Baldwin said that, in Washington, “we are driven by the belief that no loss of life on our roadways is acceptable.”
“Through Driven to Protect | Washington, we are advancing a technology with the power to stop drunk driving before it starts and save thousands of lives in the U.S. every year,” Baldwin said in the news release.
Rob Strassburger, president and CEO of ACTS, said that the tech is being engineered to function as smoothly as emergency-braking and lane-departure systems.
“Washington’s leadership is helping us get closer to bringing this technology to market, and ultimately, to saving lives,” Strassburger said in the release.
The initiative is part of a public-private partnership between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and ACTS.
The goal is to offer the technology to car manufacturers and companies with large vehicle fleets, according to Spokane’s KREM 2 News. Carmakers will be able to set the alcohol limit and pick how vehicles should respond, such as allowing the car to start but preventing drunk drivers from shifting into drive.
Baldwin emphasized that the initiative is about more than the technology alone: It’s also about creating a “culture of protection” for families, road users and neighborhoods statewide.
“Most people know that driving impaired is dangerous, but alcohol also impairs our judgment about when it is safe to drive and when it isn’t,” she said. “This is a tool to stop people from making a choice they will regret.”
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 11:47 AM with the headline "WA launches initiative to end drunk driving with new technology."
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