Road Safety Bill [HL]

The noble Lord, Lord   Bradshaw, was a little harsh in his condemnation of the technology. The part about which I was expressing reservations was the breath imprint—whether we can make absolutely certain that the breath sample that has been given is identifiable and that we know that it is from the driver who will drive the car. It is not the case that the technology is weak. That is an added dimension that will cut out the cheating to which noble Lords referred earlier; that is, somebody else acting on behalf of the driver, which would be a serious offence on the part both of the driver and the person who was complicit in the cheating. The technology is entirely secure. It is used by the courts in north America. We have a research project working on it now, and the equipment can guarantee that, if the breath contains a non-permissible level of alcohol, the ignition will not work. I reassure the noble Lord that that part of the technology is secure. The only aspect on which I was asking for an element of understanding from the Committee was the further refinement of the technology that identifies the breath imprint.