Saab's New Alcokey Could Save Up to Thirty-Two Percent of Canadian Lives

Saab's Alcokey is a practical way of ensuring that alcohol-related road fatalities will be reduced, but by how much? After all, the implication of its impact on the global

While cries of "Big Brother is watching" will sound, the fundamental purpose of the Alcokey is to make the roads safer for everybody. (Photo: General Motors of Canada)

auto market would be nominal when factoring in Saab's relatively low sales volume, but when calculating the reach of the brand's parent automaker, General Motors, which new vehicle production makes it number one in the world, the impact on lives saved could be monumental. Most likely GM would offer Alcokey to rival manufacturers if the technology proved workable on a large scale, in a similar fashion to how it licenses its OnStar communications system to key competitors - although as of yet there is no business model in place for monthly subscription to a wireless service, necessary for OnStar.

While it will seem a "Big Brother" draconian measure to some, no doubt civil liberties groups among them, the Alcokey system's global implementation (when complete) should spark a wave of awareness as a method for aiding drivers to "curb" their enthusiasm when under the influence, and in turn help to make the roads a safer place to drive.