Safety device produced

Press, 21 August 1984, Page 25

Safety device produced

PA Wellington A device which locks a car’s ignition if the driver has had too much to drink has been put into production in Auckland. Details of the Lincoln Ignition Interlock, believed by its makers to be the only product of its kind in the world, were announced at the Road Traffic Safety Research Council’s road safety seminar in Wellington yesterday. Mr Hillard McMullen, of Lincoln Research Corpora-

tion. said that the electronic sensor units were likely to be fitted as an option to most locally assembled cars. The car’s ignition was unlocked by the device only when the driver had blown into the sensor’s mouthpiece and received an “all clear” light, he said. The all-clear light was designed to show if the driver’s breath alcohol level was beneath the legal limit of 300 micrograms per litre of breath.

Mr McMullen said interest from fleet operators was high, and many private motorists were also keen to have the units fitted to their cars. Inquiries had also been received from Japanese and European manufacturers, and Mr McMullen predicted a bright export future for the Ignition Interlock. It had been patented in Australia and New Zealand, and patents were pending elsewhere, he said.