Forget the “walk-and-turn” field sobriety test; researchers have developed a laser that can detect drunk drivers remotely. A team at Warsaw’s Military University of Technology shined a laser beam through a moving vehicle, along with a reflective mirror that bounced back to a detector, to pick up alcohol vapors. With a system to simulate a drunk driver’s breath, the researchers were able to detect blood alcohol concentrations higher than 0.1 percent. (In the US, a concentration of 0.08 or greater is considered illegal.) With a real drunk person, though, the lasers-and-mirrors setup could likely detect even lower levels.
via Engadget
