The Driving Safety Confirmation System is a research result supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology's Free Form Program and the Ministry of Justice's Science and Technology Development Program. It was jointly developed by Dr. Chuang-Wen Yau of the Center for Smart Internet Innovation and Dr. Ming-Chi Huang of Taipei United Hospital.
In recent years, the problem of drink driving has become increasingly serious in Taiwan. In order to reduce the occurrence of drunk driving, despite the fact that the police have been stepping up enforcement actions, the number of deaths due to drunk driving in 2016 was as high as 533 according to the Institute of Transportation, Ministry of Transportation, and the recidivism rate of drunk driving in 2015 was as high as 36.86% according to the statistics. Therefore, the number of drunk driving injuries and fatalities can be reduced by reducing the chance of re-drinking and driving.
The current slow prosecution of drunk driving cases is based on regular interviews with caregivers and standard clinical sobriety treatment, supplemented by social work. However, after interviews with the research team at NTU, it was found that mobile technology with a portable Bluetooth alcohol detector would provide an effective alternative for caregivers and drunk driving cases to prevent drunk driving through innovative human-computer interaction and self-management.
Drunk driving cases only need to use the cell phone application to self-test their blood alcohol levels in the morning, afternoon, evening and late night hours every day to enhance the effectiveness of alcohol metabolism self-awareness. When there is an abnormal situation, a caregiver can provide counseling. It also helps DUI cases to self-record their drinking status during the period of deferred prosecution, and to confirm whether they are fit to drive at the appropriate time to facilitate daily tracking. The results of NTU's research and development are not only technological advances, but also effective and convenient in reducing recidivism, making our society safer and our environment more convenient.
