Toyota’s new device ‘alcolock’ can prevent drunk driving

World’s largest automaker Toyota has come up with a novel device that prevents a car from starting when the driver is over the alcohol limit. Fitted with a digital camera, the “alcolock” locks the ignition if it detects that the driver has drunk too much, or is under the legal limit, and gives the motorist a warning, reports the Telegraph. The camera can also be used to check the driver’s identity.

Toyota is one of a number of companies developing the technology, with Nissan, another Japanese carmaker, preparing a device, which can be installed in a car in the US.

This follows legislation passed in certain states, which would spare a motorist a driving ban if the device were fitted. There is also interest in Britain in the use of the alcolock, which has already been tested in Bristol and the West Midlands.

One option under consideration is to offer motorists a shorter driving ban if they agree to have the device fitted once their disqualification is complete. There have also been trials in Sweden, where the user pays all the expenses of the programme, which is around 1,250 pounds a year