OK to Drive

A New Mexico legislator has introduced a bill that would tackle drunk driving by requiring an ignition interlock device in every new or used car that changes hands in the state. Before a you could start up the car, and periodically while you were driving, you'd have to prove you were not intoxicated by blowing into a tube. "Imagine that we technologically prevent someone from driving while drunk because the car just won't start," says the bill's sponsor, Rep. Ken Martinez (D-Grants). "Imagine how much money would we save."

A whole lot, I guess, assuming that it costs nothing to retrofit every car in the state. While we're at it, why not add a tube for urine so the car can do a battery of drug tests? And what about fatigue, a major contributor to traffic accidents? Perhaps every car should be equipped with a retractable rod that would periodically poke the driver to make sure he's alert.

Or maybe the car could just say to you, over and over, "Ken Martinez is writing legislation." That would keep me awake.

[Thanks to George Passantino for the link.]