Getting ahead of drunk drivers

Re “Feds push for alcohol detectors,” Sept. 21

While I understand the call to install electronic devices in cars to detect impairment in the wake of the terrible crash on Highway 33 near Fresno in 2021, I think it’s time to attack the problem at its root.

We need to seriously consider no longer allowing the advertising of alcoholic beverages. The use of alcohol contributes to so many social ills that it’s hard to list them all.

Look at what happened when the advertising of tobacco was finally outlawed. Smoking dramatically decreased and deaths were reduced.

Drinking is at least as dangerous as smoking. There will be tremendous pushback against any laws limiting the sale or use of alcohol, but if we want to seriously confront the dangers of drunk driving, outlawing advertising for these products would be a good first step.

Peter Marquard Northridge

All new cars should have at least two revolutionary electronic devices installed at assembly.

One is the alcohol detectors that would help prevent an intoxicated person from driving. This is what federal regulators want, as reported in the article.

The other is a device that could disengage a car’s electrical fuel pump during a police pursuit, bringing the speeding vehicle to a halt before any damage can be done.

If we can send people to the moon, why not have these lifesaving devices on Earth?

Morley J. Helfand Arcadia