Whether you think this is a good thing or another step towards a “Big Brother” future, there is an effort to make drunk driving detection a standard feature in all new cars. New technologies allow impaired driving detection through sensors that can monitor the driver’s eye movement as well as touch and breath sensors that detect alcohol. We already have breath sensors (Ignition Interlock Devices (IIDS)) that many who are convicted of drunk driving are required to install. Reportedly there are approximately 250 such technologies which use smell, touch, camera and/or audio or visual detection. New regulations may mean that in the future all new cars will be required to install some sort of impaired driving device.
Congress has passed a bill that requires the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a regulation by 2026 that all new passenger vehicles include equipment that monitors for impairment of the driver. This does not mean that all 2026 passenger vehicles are going to be equipped with this technology; the 2026 deadline-if it holds-only requires the NHTSA to issue a regulation.
If the vehicle detects impairment, the new cars must include a means for limiting the driver’s further operation of the vehicle. It is not clear by what mechanism the car could limit the operation of the vehicle. The provision terms the requirement “a national safety standard for passive, advanced impaired driving prevention system.” Some fear that there will be a remote-controlled or automatic “kill switch”. This is unfounded but not outside the realm of possibility since the NHSTA hasn’t issued the regulations yet. Obviously, the car won’t be disabled amidst traffic. But whatever the technology, it will likely be some form of continuous driver monitoring.