Not Sure If You're Drunk? Tostitos Will Tell You

Who better to take on drunk driving than Tostitos? Yep, the Chip company is fighting impaired driving with a breathalyzer bag. Just eat the chips, blow into the bag and repeat.

Virginia Bill Would Crack Down on Drunken Segway Drivers

Drunk? Maybe not. But making bad choices?
Chances are good.

Virginia could soon be spared the terrors of drunken Segway drivers. Yes, drunken Segway drivers. No, I didn't know that was an issue either.


According to the Washington Post, a proposed bill would target people riding a bike, an “electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, or moped” on a highway while intoxicated.

 If passed, offenders would face a Class 2 misdemeanor. That could mean that at least six months in the pokey and a fine of up to $1,000, or both. Ouch. That's kind of harsh.

The Virginia Biking Federation, said, while they're not opposed to the bill, they don't see a lot of wasted bicyclists.

AAA Says Marijuana DUI Tests Flawed

The AAA Auto Club is suggesting the six states, including Washington, that have legal marijuana useAccording to the Christian Science Monitor, a AAA study said it's not possible to set a blood-test threshold for THC, the chemical in pot that makes people high, that can accurately determine impairment.

Currently, laws in five of those states automatically presume a driver is impaired if tested higher than the set limit. AAA recommends replacing the laws with ones based on specially trained police officers to determine if a driver is impaired. The test would screen for dozens of indicators of drug use, ranging from pupil dilation to tongue color. That test would be followed by a test for the presence of THC, rather than a specific amount.
dump their pot DUI laws.

AAA says there is no science that says drivers become impaired at a specific level of THC; a lot depends on the individual. Also, some drivers may be impaired when pulled over but THC levels may fall below legal limits by the time they are tested. In addition, frequent marijuana users can have high levels of THC in their system long after the last time they used it.

To give some perspective, studies show that using marijuana roughly doubles the risk of a crash. In comparison, talking on a hands-free cellphone, which is legal in the U.S., quadruples your crash risk. 

U.S. Drivers Are Distracted 50% of the Time

The only thing he doesn't have going on is smoking a
cigarette too.

We're definitely a distracted nation but these numbers scare me. A new study out of Virginia Tech published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last month says drivers are distracted more than 50 percent of the time.

Citylab reports that nearly 70 percent of the crashes the researchers analyzed for the study involved some type of observable distraction. The study's lead says this could because the younger population of drivers, particularly teens, are more prone to engaging in distracting activities while driving; particularly using cell phones.

For study, the Virginia Tech researchers, used 3,500 study participants who agreed to let researchers mount cameras, sensors, and radar inside their vehicles, tracking and filming the drivers everywhere they went for a three-year period.

What did they see? Mostly cell phones. Drivers were observed dialing a phone just 0.14 percent of the time, but still raised the odds of an accident by a factor of 12 compared to what the researchers call “model driving,” or driving while “alert, attentive, and sober.” Texting occurred 1.91 percent of the time, leading to a risk increase by a factor of six. Drivers talked on the phone 3.24 percent of the time, and chatting more than doubled the risk of an incident. Just reaching for a handheld cell phone increased the odds of an accident nearly five times.

Researchers also witnessed "driving while emotional;" aka being sad, crying or displaying "emotional agitations." This only happened about 0.2 percent of the time, but it increased the risk of an incident by nearly 1000 percent compared to model driving.

What distractions seemed a-okay? Applying makeup while driving didn’t appear to be as risk-averse as you would think. Eating and drinking (nonalcoholic beverages obviously) didn’t make much of a difference, either.

Drug and alcohol use was observed just 0.1 percent of the time, but it increased the risk of crash by a factor of 40.

New Technology Could Almost Completely Eradicate Drunk Driving

Some new technology that could soon be installed in every car coming off the assembly line may completely eradicate drunk driving in the future.

According to News 1130 The DADSS (Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety) is a breath and touch-based bio-sensor system designed to measure blood alcohol levels under the skin’s surface by shining an infrared-light through the fingertip or measuring the alcohol level in a driver’s naturally exhaled breath.

If you're above a preset level (probably zero for teenagers and maybe 0.5 for adults), the car takes over- it stays at a slow speed, the lights flash and the horn honks repeatedly to signal law enforcement and other drivers that the driver may be impaired. Plus, at that point, the car is going so slow that if the driver were to hit something, it wouldn't cause enough impact to kill or seriously hurt anyone.

The DADSS research program is a partnership between the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), which represents the world’s leading automakers. Widespread adoption of the technology is expected to happen within three to five years, although some are skeptical.

For instance, Automotive Specialist with News 1130, Tim Dimopolous, says he doubts the technology will be available that soon, but also that it will need to be legislated into vehicles rather than introduced voluntarily by car manufacturers as it will cost extra money to be installed in vehicles.

In addition to the fight that car manufacturers might put up against this, I see some potential legal issues. For instance, what if the system is faulty or develops a glitch and goes off when you're not drinking or impaired? This could be embarrassing for some people and cause undue legal issues. Just some thoughts on my part. What do you think?

Bill Would Make 4th DUI Conviction a Felony

Senator Mike Padden (R-Spokane Valley) and Attorney General Bob Ferguson are proposing a bill that would make a fourth DUI conviction within 10 year a felony, according to KHQ News.

Senate Bill 5105 would make a fourth DUI-related offense in 10 years a class C felony, meaning offenders would face time in prison rather than county jail.

According to Ferguson, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission says impaired drivers cause 50 percent of fatal traffic crashes in Washington. In 2013 alone, Ferguson says 220 people died in crashes involving an impaired driver.

Currently Washington requires five convictions within a 10-year period to be considered as a felony. By comparison, Oregon and Idaho require only three.

Free Ride Home From St. Patrick's Day Festivities

Law Enforcement will be conducting DUI patrols in Spokane County during this upcoming St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The Spokane County Target Zero Task Force is partnering with Uber, the app that connects riders and drivers, to offer free rides to new users and discounted rides to current users.   

New Uber users can take advantage of this Uber promotion by downloading the Uber app (get.uber.com/go) and inputting the promo code SPOSAFE1.  Then enjoy a safe Uber ride home free of charge up to $25. 

Existing Uber users can input the promo code SPORIDE1 to get up to two rides at 20% off between 10AM March 14, 2015 and 3AM March 15, 2015—just in time for the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

New Drivers Will Be Obvious In Ireland

It's not exactly a scarlet letter but a new law in Ireland will make it very clear, and visible, as to who is an inexperienced driver. New drivers will have special plates with an 'N' on them, for "novice" for two years after getting their license. New drivers will also be subject to lower alcohol limits. http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/motorists-face-more-penalty-points-for-speeding-from-friday-1.1882534

States Not Jumping On The Wagon For Lower Blood Alcohol Level

The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) push to lower legal blood-alcohol limits for drivers appears headed for a dead end.

States are showing little, if any, interest in revisiting the issue, industry groups are lining up against the plan and even the most vocal opponents of  drunk driving have declined to endorse it.

The NTSB says the move would severely reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes in the U.S., but even Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) aren't showing much interest. Why?

The Hill tackles the issue.-