Automated vehicles could detect and report impaired drivers using technology available right now, but such a thing is not imminent.
AVs could use vehicle-to-vehicle communication, external cameras, and AI algorithms to detect and report erratic driving, according to the AI Grok. But the legal and ethical framework does not yet exist.
Governments across the world have been looking at using technology to increase safety. Poland has experimented with laser alcohol detection, for example.
All current technology holds to risk of error. Acting Administrator Ann Carlson of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) noted in 2023 that a 99.9 percent accuracy rate could still result in a million false positives daily given the billion daily driving journeys in the U.S.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
