Washington joins national effort to bring cutting-edge technology to its roads and build a future free from alcohol-impaired driving fatalities

SPOKANE – The Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) today launched the Driven to Protect | Washington initiative, becoming the fourth state to join a national effort to end drunk driving using advanced in-vehicle alcohol detection technology. The initiative supports the development and real-world testing of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS), a groundbreaking system designed to passively detect when a driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is at or above the legal limit and prevent the vehicle from operating.

“In Washington, we are driven by the belief that no loss of life on our roadways is acceptable,” said Shelly Baldwin, Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. “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.”

Over the past decade, alcohol-related traffic deaths in the state have increased by 91 percent. Drunk driving remains a leading cause of traffic deaths in the United States. Nationally, more than 10,000 people are killed each year in alcohol-related crashes, and nearly one-third of all traffic fatalities involve a drunk driver, highlighting the urgent need for innovative solutions. In Washington, 27 percent of all roadway fatalities in 2023 involved an alcohol-impaired driver, with 216 lives lost.

As part of Driven to Protect, the Washington State Department of Transportation has

generously volunteered to install the DADSS technology in three fleet vehicles. By doing so, they are providing data on how seamless the system is for sober drivers and how well the sensors respond to weather, road conditions, and other standard interference. This will help improve the technology for future deployment in passenger vehicles.

“The DADSS technology is being developed to function as seamlessly as the lane departure and emergency braking systems we already rely on,” said Rob Strassburger, President & CEO of the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety. “Washington’s leadership is helping us get closer to bringing this technology to market, and ultimately, to saving lives.”

The Driven to Protect initiative is part of a national public-private partnership between the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Together with participating states like Washington, the program is helping to accelerate the development of alcohol detection systems that work automatically, passively, and without requiring any additional action by the driver.

Currently in pilot testing, the system uses infrared light to analyze a driver’s naturally exhaled breath and determine whether alcohol is present. It is being engineered to distinguish between the driver and passengers and to provide accurate, reliable results without requiring the driver to blow into a mouthpiece.

As part of the initiative, WTSC will also lead outreach and educational efforts across Washington to help residents better understand how the technology works and why it is a vital step forward in preventing impaired driving fatalities.

“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. This is a tool to stop people from making a

choice they will regret,” said Baldwin. “Driven to Protect is not just about the technology itself. It is about building a culture of protection for every neighborhood, every family, and every road user in our state.”

The DADSS Program reflects the power of government and industry collaboration to address public safety. Like airbags and anti-lock brakes before it, alcohol detection technology has the potential to be a transformative safety feature that can eliminate drunk driving as a leading cause of death on our roads.

To learn more about the Driven to Protect | Washington initiative, visit www.DrivenToProtectWA.org

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About the DADSS Program

The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program is a collaborative research partnership between ACTS and NHTSA to develop advanced alcohol detection technology to

prevent drunk driving. The technology is designed to passively detect when a driver is impaired and prevent the vehicle from moving, saving lives without disrupting normal driving behavior. Learn more at DADSS.org