Technology Can Save Lives

Yesterday both of my blog entries focused on the problem of people driving without or with suspended or revoked drivers licenses. The problem is serious and measures need to be taken to curb this activity and reduce highway deaths, injuries and property damage. Once again I found some interesting answers in the Automobile Club of America Foundation study titled “Unlicensed To Kill”. The title of this report comes from “Unlicensed to Kill,” a small article that appeared in the June 13, 1994 issue of Time Magazine.

The report is based on research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) a nationwide census providing NHTSA, Congress and the American public yearly data regarding fatal injuries suffered in motor vehicle traffic crashes.

One option has been to impound the offender’s vehicle. Although very low tech in its approach, impoundment does provide short-term fixes but technology might be the answer to keeping the unlicensed driver out from behind the wheel. If vehicle impoundment is a low-technology solution to the problem of unlawful driving, electronic drivers licenses (EDLs) are a decidedly high-technology alternative to illegal driving that is still in the conceptual and promotional stages of development.

An EDL is, basically, a “smart card,” not unlike a bank card, that works in concert with an ignition interlock system and an on-board computer to verify a driver’s identity and authorize vehicle operation. The EDL holds pre-recorded information about a driver, such as date of birth, license restrictions, license expiration date, driver picture, medical information, and the vehicle’s on-board computer holds the identities of all authorized drivers for that vehicle. When a license is placed in an ignition slot, the on-board computer verifies that the card holder is authorized to operate the vehicle. Once verification is complete, ignition is accomplished through the push of a  button. If any of the information on the EDL is not valid (e.g., the card holder is not an authorized driver, the license has expired, license restrictions are being violated, etc.) the vehicle will not start.

Once the validity of an EDL has been established and the driver is underway, the on-board computer will have the capability of storing various pieces of trip related information, such as time of day, location of the vehicle, duration of the trip, speed of the vehicle preceding a crash. If a driver on a restricted license is not allowed to travel during certain hours or beyond a prescribed distance from home or work, the on-board computer could, presumably, provide a record of violations.

A problem exists in that without some mechanism for assuring that the person behind the wheel is the same person whose EDL is inserted in the ignition card slot, EDLs could in many instances be circumvented. Without authentication (such as a thumb print), the unlicensed 16-year-old or the husband with a restricted license who “borrows” anothers EDL will have no difficulty starting the family sedan. Without authentication, EDLs may curtail illegal driving, but they will certainly not “prevent all illegal driving.”

If you or a loved one is injured in a Nashville automobile accident contact our experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney’s at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out aobut your rights and remedies.