NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 16, 2009
Saving Lives Through Ontario Innovation
McGuinty Government Supports Technology That Prevents Drunk Driving
NEWS
Ontario is supporting the development of breakthrough technology that will help save lives and create jobs.
The province is helping Sober Steering demonstrate new technology that uses sensors mounted on steering wheels to detect alcohol and prevent people who have exceeded the legal limit from driving.
Ontario is investing close to $1.5 million through the Innovation Demonstration Fund to help Sober Steering bring its product to market. The company expects to create 10 permanent and up to 20 part-time high-skill jobs over the next five years.
The province’s investment supports Ontario’s Innovation Agenda, the province’s plan to make innovation a driving force of Ontario’s economy.
QUOTES
"Ontario is proud to support innovative companies like Sober Steering. Their new technology and innovative thinking has tremendous potential to make roads around the world safer, while creating skilled jobs right here at home."
— Minister of Research and Innovation John Milloy
"Ontario has consistently been at the forefront in the fight against drunk driving, and its investment in our technology as a solution reaffirms that commitment. With Ontario’s support, we can more quickly get our systems on the road in Ontario and around the world. This means that we can more quickly start saving lives, saving taxpayer dollars and creating high-tech jobs here in Ontario."
— Dennis Bellehumeur, Founder and CEO, Sober Steering
QUICK FACTS
- Drinking and driving accounts for almost a quarter of all fatalities on Ontario’s roads. During the past decade, more than 50,000 people were injured in collisions involving a drunk driver.
- Currently, more than half of U.S. states have some form of legislation mandating the use of devices that prevent drinking and driving for people with drunk driving convictions.
- Sweden has set a goal that by 2012, all new vehicles must be fitted with devices that prevent drinking and driving. Other European countries and Japan are considering similar legislation.
LEARN MORE
About Support For Emerging Technology Companies.
About Ontario’s Innovation Agenda.
