4A: Forming an Opportunity Belief

I believe that  driving under the influence of alcohol is a problem and major opportunities to combat this issue can exist in the near future. Each year, over 10,000 people are killed by accidents related to drunk driving,  about one drunk driving fatality every 50 minutes. (https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving)  Currently, there is not much being done that's effectively stopping these tragedies from occurring. Commercials and strict laws and penalties have not been enough to successfully solve this issue.  The need for a solution is not new, deaths resulting from drivers being under the influence as been common since cars first started coming out. I think there can be a product made that would undoubtedly slash these statistics significantly.  All Cars should have an option to install a breathalyzer attachment, and from the hours between 10 P.M and 4 A.M when the majority of the drunk driving incidents occur, requiring a breathalyzer test to start the car.  I am about 75% sure this opportunity exists. This concept has been suggested, and prototypes based off an idea similar to this exists but as of now, is not very common place.

1.  Early 20's  college student and member of a fraternity 
                  Have you ever driven under the influence or have been in a car with someone who was driving under the influence?
                   " I have never driven drunk, but i know a few people that have before, and one that has gotten a DUI."
                Do you believe we should be taking bigger steps to fight the issue of driving under the influence? 
                 "Yeah, I definitely think so, there should be better ways to prevent people from making these bad decisions when they're drunk and putting themselves and other people at risk."
                Would you believe that over 10,000 people a year are killed by drunk drivers?
            "Yeah, for sure, I hear news stories all of the time about people getting killed by a drunk driver, that number does not sound unreasonable at all to me.
            Would you support or be opposed to purchasing a breathalyzer attachment to your car that would require a test to start your car during night hours?
             " I probably would not buy one because I can control myself and I know when i have hit my limits, but i would recommend it to others I know, and I think there are some people that cannot control themselves as well and should definitely get one if it was available.
               What do you currently do now, to prevent yourself  or others from driving while under the influence?
                " I don't get the urge to drive to places when i drink, like some other people, i know when I can and cannot drive, but sometimes at parties we will all put our keys in a separate area off limits if you plan on drinking, or sometimes we'll just have to take somebodies keys if they start talking about planning to drive somewhere when they clearly shouldn't."
                When did you first become aware of how serious the problem of drunk driving is?
             I've always known for as long as i can remember it was wrong and stupid to do, but it really wasn't until my junior and senior year of high school when i saw even my own friends starting to make these bad decisions, that it occurred to me how dangerous and common this issue is.



2.  Mid 40's European male
                  Have you ever driven under the influence or have been in a car with someone who was driving under the influence?
                            "Never in my life have I tried to drive while having drank previously. As for being in the car with someone who made the decision to do so, i may have once or twice been in a car with someone who I thought may have been questionable, but i never knowingly drove with someone who was drunk.
                 Do you believe we should be taking bigger steps to fight the issue of driving under the influence?      
                      "Yes, absolutely, I have always thought that this was a big problem and that there wasn't enough being done, no one should have their life taken away by one person's stupid decisions.
               
                   Would you believe that over 10,000 people a year are killed by drunk drivers?
                      " Yes, i probably would have guessed a higher number  too, but 10,000 deaths is already a number too high."
                   Would you support or be opposed to purchasing a breathalyzer attachment to your car that would require a test to start your car during night hours?
                       " I believe something has to be done to solve this problem, that may get a little annoying to use after a while if its required to start your car  no matter if you have been drinking or not, but i'm sure most people who drink often and are a risk, would sacrifice a few seconds to possibly save their life or the lives of others and make a purchase like this."
                  What do you currently do now, to prevent yourself  or others from driving while under the influence?
                        " If I am at a bar or restaurant I will only drink a little bit so i can make sure i am fit to drive so I do not find myself being in a situation where i would have to drive home under the influence. When I am in the company of others, i'll encourage them to do the same."
                 When did you first become aware of how serious the problem of drunk driving is?
                Drunk driving has always been a problem, but one night i had to call 911 while driving on the highway after I saw someone swerving and then crash over the wall, seeing that made me understand just how serious this issue was and the problems that arise from not wanting to drive your car home are very small compared to the problems you can face if you do decide to drive."




3.  Late 20's  male college graduate 
                 
                     Have you ever driven under the influence or have been in a car with someone who was driving under the influence?
                             " I will admit to have driven very short distances, no where less than a few miles, when i probably should not have, but I was by no means completely drunk and in a terrible state. I have learned and have gotten much more responsible, i am never going to risk it again"
                      Do you believe we should be taking bigger steps to fight the issue of driving under the influence?      
                               "Absolutely, there's too many people out there dying every day from drunk drivers, there has to be more that can be done."
                   
                      Would you believe that over 10,000 people a year are killed by drunk drivers?
                               "Unfortunately, yes, I'm aware of the severity of the issue and a stat like that does no surprise me at all.
                      Would you support or be opposed to purchasing a breathalyzer attachment to your car that would require a test to start your car during night hours?
                                "That sounds like something would have been good for me when I was in college, i would recommend buying that for others."
                       What do you currently do now, to prevent yourself  or others from driving while under the influence?
                                 " If i know that i am going somewhere with alcohol involved then my friends and I will assign a designated driver or if not, we'll just use Uber, i try not to drive anywhere in these cases if I can help it."
                       When did you first become aware of how serious the problem of drunk driving is?
                     " My parents always told me how wrong and serious it was so I've had it ingrained in me for a long time, it wasn't until i started college when I started to see just how easy it is to get behind a wheel and not think twice about whether you should or not."



Reflection:  From the information I have gathered, it is clear to me that drinking while driving is more common than I had thought. It seems that everyone has either done it at one point or knows others that have. We've all heard from a young age that this was wrong and stupid but it seems to many that they don't start to fully grasp the severity of this problem until they experience it on their own or see others that have made the decision to do so. A breathalyzer to start your car may seem like a nuisance to people, but it may be one of the only ways to truly solve this issue.

Summary:  Based on what I've heard, a breathalyzer test to start your car at certain times of the day would be a definite problem solver, but would not be flying off the shelves.  Nobody wants to believe that they are a risk of drunk driving, or that there could be serious consequences if they, individually, do. We all know it is a huge problem today, but not many are too serious about making a real effort to combat it, making this seem to me, less of an opportunity than before. As an entrepreneur in this case, I would think to adjust the product so it is not as much of a nuisance, such as a feature to turn off the breathalyzer once installed, if you are in a situation where you were not drinking. But doing this seems counterintuitive. As someone concerned about the amount of deaths per year linked to drunk driving, i would have no choice but to stand firm on my product the way it is, and try and promote it in any way possible, to ensure the roads are safer than they were before.