Nissan Kicks Off Tests of On-Board Breathalyzer

Nissan appears to be leading the pack when it comes to making preventive drunk-driving technology a reality. It announced on Tuesday that it will start testing a new technology in Japan with the intention of rolling the system out in production vehicles in the future. Nissan will test a new on-board breathalyzer system that can sniff alcohol on a driver's breath. If the amount exceeds a specified level, the ignition will be disabled through an interlock mechanism.

Toyota is said to be developing a similar fail-safe system for detecting drunk driving that uses sweat detectors and can sense abnormal steering in advance of shutting down the car. Nissan said its pioneering drunk-driving prevention system will be installed on "daily-operating vehicles where the drivers will monitor various factors such as functionality and alcohol-detection reliability."