Volvo Alcoguard To Help Reduce Drink And Drive

Volvo announces their latest innovative technology. A device called the "Alcoguard" to help reduce road accidents caused by drink driving. The main objective of the technology is to sober up driver's decisions. According to Ingrid Skogsmo, director of the Volvo Car Safety Centre, the device will be available in upcoming models of Volvo S80, V70 and XC70 as a optional feature.

Volvo expects good response from the market, especially the public sector vehicles like taxis, state authorities, municipals and private sectors like company vehicles and privately owned vehicles. The research and development of Alcoguard is the great success of Skyltfonden funding. Skyltfonden provides financial support for developments in the area of traffic safety. Funds for Skyltfonden come from the fees that car owner’s pay for personalized registration plates.

Alcoguard utilizes methanol-based fuel cells, which is similar to the law enforcement alcohol test units. Users of Alcoguard will blow into a wireless handheld unit, which will analyze and transmit data back to Alcoguard inside the vehicle. Results will determine the level of alcohol from the driver as:

Green: 0.0 - 0.1 g/l alcohol, the car's engine starts

Yellow: 0.1 - 0.2 g/l alcohol, the car will start, but the driver should not drive

Red: more than 0.2 g/l alcohol, the car's engine will not start

Different levels of preset limit of the device can be tweaked according to differing country’s legislation. Alcoguard will preserve the test results within 30 minutes after the engine has been turned off to prevent shortstop repeat process. Calibration and battery replacement also can be done at the Volvo service center, which includes removal of the units if owners do not wish to have it anymore.

The Alcoguard handheld test unit is powered by wireless connection; as such, a driver do not need to run the test inside the vehicle in a perimeter of 10 meters from the car. Volvo engineers also designed the unit to be able start up in 5 seconds within room temperature as well as supply it with a power adaptor when use in cold weather.

Volvo spokesperson David Nilsson explained that Alcoguard should not be treated as an aid tool to reduce alcohol related accidents, but as information guidance to the driver. Alcoguard can be by-passed if required in two ways:

1. Bypass is possible in unlimited number of times, or

2. Bypass is only possible once.

The bypass can be executed at Volvo service workshops and all information will be kept as private and confidential in the car'slog. Volvo hopes this technology can be used in a wider spectrum, helping authorities and insurance companies and perhaps bring down the cost of producing Alcoguard as well. However, this technology has already been well accepted by Swedish.

Source : zerotohundred