Design Concept

Design Philosophy

Drink driving has always been a major cause of car accidents causing injuries and death both to the drivers and other victims. In-car interlock device to test level of blood alcohol concentration has been in use for many years and yielded satisfactory results. To install such an in-car interlock device, vehicle garages must modify the cars. The costs are usually high and there may also be other additional liabilities or car safety issues after modifications. The i-KEY would provide the same protection at a fraction of the cost to modify a car.

How can drivers protect themselves and others after drinking? The driver has no intention to harm or kill himself or takes other people's lives. Getting drunken drivers off the road is of paramount importance. It is like installing safety belt in the cars to protect drivers, rain wipers to provide better visibility, lights to give clearer vision at night. The development of the i-KEY is therefore a major breakthrough and will save millions of lives. The i-KEY is like motor insurance which prevents a driver from driving if he is found to have taken alcohol beyond the acceptable limit. Of course no prevention device is foolproof, the driver with an intention to bypass the test can always find a way to flout the system. This is like a driver who deliberately refuses to fasten his safety belt, avoid switching on the rain wipers on a rainy day or headlights driving in the dark. Likewise, the i-KEY is designed to save a driver's life. (If the drunk driver decides to connect the starting wires to start the car engine, it is like jumping from the roof of a tall building. No one can save him.)

Drinking can be a pleasurable experience especially when it is often associated with a friendly social gathering. However one should be aware that alcohol in any amount could impair one's mental functions. What is more, the effects of drinking are very subtle and frequently unrecognized by a driver who is already under the influence of alcohol. The i-KEY can therefore put his heart at ease. If he can avoid drinking, so much the better. If not, after consumption of any alcohol, he can always pull out the key and blow into the mouthpiece to check if it is safe for him to drive the car. If not, he may prefer to continue drinking until the morning and forget about driving home. Or the driver may be very drunk but values his life enough to order a cup of coffee, stay in the bar for another one or two hours until his body has completely metabolized the alcohol. If a driver is not sober enough to make the decision for himself, the key will save his life by preventing him from starting the car anyway. Some drivers who have had too much to drink may try to have his friends blow into the key, but this is unlikely as his friends may also be too drunk. If the friends were sober, they would probably tell the drunken driver not to drive as this is the only sensible way to someone whose life may be in danger. The i-KEY test cannot be fooled by a hair dryer, hand blower in the washroom or the breath of a dog.