I have a coworker who looked into trying to buy such a device for himself, to keep himself out of trouble. He gave up. If you want to just go out and buy one, it’s not an easy task at all.

I would have no problem at all with such devices being standard equipment. If society is going to encourage drinking, then it’s society’s responsibility to provide means to do so responsibly.

The other option is to go back to city living, with at least one tavern on pretty much every streetcorner. Then after drinking themselves into a stupor, people can just walk home. Like Mike Royko used to say, if they pass out in the street on the way home, at least they didn’t hurt anyone.

Since that latter option isn’t going to happen (society also dictates that people live in segregated, suburban McMansions), breathalyzers as standard equipment seems to be the best option. Or at the very least make it possible for someone with good intentions to buy one.

I don’t know if they still do it, but there was a device that the courts could require installed on a convicted drunk driver’s car that required them to blow a breath test before driving – if they blew too high, the vehicle simply wouldn’t start.

I think that ought to be standard equipment for cars. For those who have been convicted of drunk driving, they should install a boxing glove on one of those retractable arms. If you blow too high – you get punched. And while you’re trying to recover from getting the wind knocked out of you (or worse), On-star is automatically alerting the police that you’re in a vehicle, attempting to drive – and drunk.

I’m normally not a big fan of "nanny" laws, preferring that if you choose, for example, to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, that you might either be lucky and not get injured, or serve as a good bad example. But a drunk in a car is simply dangerous.

I agree with every word you said.