Toyota Motor Corp. is developing a fail-safe system for cars that detects drunk drivers and automatically shuts the vehicle down if sensors pick up signs of excessive alcohol consumption, according to a news report Wednesday.

Cars fitted with the detection system will not start if sweat sensors in the steering wheel detect high levels of alcohol in the driver's bloodstream, according to a report carried by the mass-circulation daily Asahi Shimbun.

The system could also kick in if the sensors detect abnormal steering, or if a special camera shows that the driver's pupils are not in focus. The car is then slowed to a halt, the report said.

The world's No. 2 automaker hopes to fit cars with the system by the end of 2009, according to the report. Calls to Toyota's headquarters in Nagoya rang unanswered on Wednesday, a public holiday.

Nissan Motor Co., another Japanese car manufacturer, has already been experimenting with breathalyzer-like devices that could detect if a driver was drunk. Similar technologies, such as alcohol ignition interlocks, are in use in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Concerns over drunk driving have surged in Japan following a series of alcohol-related accidents last year. In August, a drunk driver collided with another vehicle carrying a family of five, forcing them off a bridge and killing three children.

The incident prompted stepped-up roadside spot checks by police, who also plan to stiffen penalties for drunk driving.