Researchers from Poland have created a laser that, when fired at cars, can determine if the driver is drunk.
The device can use special curved mirrors and beams of light to detect alcohol vapor inside moving vehicles, according to The Verge.
The research team at Warsaw's Military University of Technology published a study with details about the laser.
The team shone a laser beam through a moving vehicle that bounced off a reflective mirror and into the detector, providing alcohol vapors to the team, Engadget reported.
The researchers used a system simulating the breath from a drunk driver to detect blood alcohol concentrations that were higher than 0.1 percent. A concentration of 0.08 or higher is considered illegal in the U.S. The team said the system can find even lower concentration levels when being used on a real drunk person.
However, there are some flaws in the system, The Verge reported. Results can be affected by a variety of factors, such as drivers or passengers opening windows or turning on air conditioning.
The system can also be thrown off by other drunk passengers being in the same car.
The team wrote in the study's conclusion that despite the limitations, "such situations are very easily detected by the system, which sends this information to the policeman indicating that the car should be checked," The Huffington Post reported.
The study was published online in the Journal of Applied Remote Sensing on May 19, 2014.
The researchers are looking to make the system more compact and figure out other situations that can affect the accuracy of the system, Engadget reported.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board classifies humans with 0.05 percent blood alcohol level as "drunk", The Verge reported.
The researchers said the system will decrease the number of cars checked by police and increase efficiency in catching drunk drivers.
