The House took up a measure on Tuesday to block federal funding for a mandate that will soon require new car technology to measure driver behavior and shut down vehicles if drunk driving or other impairment is detected.
Rep. Thomas Massie, backed by a dozen Republicans, introduced legislation to stop the mandate that forces car manufacturers, beginning in 2026, to equip all new vehicles with cameras and sensors aimed at detecting intoxication and, eventually, other dangerous driving behaviors.
Under the mandate, the new technology would also prevent cars from operating if the sensors determine the driver is impaired.
Critics say the technology is imperfect and intrusive and will leave motorists stranded and subject them to unconstitutional snooping, among other problems.
“I think it’s going to be a train wreck,” Mr. Massie, Kentucky Republican, told The Washington Times.
Mr. Massie, who equates the technology to a “kill switch,” for cars, authored an amendment blocking funding for the mandate for one year.
Lawmakers debated Mr. Massie’s amendment this week. If it passes, it will be included in the House version of the 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill and will have a shot at inclusion in the spending measure that eventually makes it to President Biden’s desk.
At least a dozen Republicans back Mr. Massie’s effort to defund the mandate, which became law with little fanfare or notice but has been quietly under development for years.
Mr. Massie believes most Republicans and even Democrats will support his effort out of concern the technology could harm motorists.
He warned the technology could strand drivers navigating icy roads in a blizzard or other road conditions that could be misinterpreted as impaired behavior by the nascent technology.
“In order for a car to be smart enough to know that you’re not driving well, and to capture all those conditions accurately, the car would almost have to be smart enough to drive itself,” Mr. Massie said. “It’s literally a backseat driver.”
Many lawmakers were unaware of the mandate, which was tucked into the 2,700-page, $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that passed with bipartisan support and signed by President Biden in November 2021.
It requires Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to issue a final rule by 2024 that mandates all motor vehicles “to be equipped with advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology.”
The federal government and automakers have been partnering for years on the development for automobiles a Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety or DADDS. The technology measures driver intoxication through breath or touch, without requiring the driver to blow into a breathalyzer or take any other action.
The system has been designed to flag blood alcohol levels above the legal limit, which is .08 in 49 states. If a driver exceeds the limit, the system will prevent the car from moving.
It’s been tested by a group of drivers in Massachusetts and is still under development, according to the DADSS Research Program website.
“This breakthrough technology is designed to be fast, accurate, reliable, and affordable – all without affecting normal driving behavior,” the website pledged.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving and public health advocacy groups have long argued in favor of DADDS technology for cars, arguing that it would save thousands of lives.
An advisory group made up of MADD and other advocacy groups called on the federal government to implement the mandate in 2024, even though the technology was limited and still in development.
Eventually, it will be expanded to detect and shut down cars not only for drunk driving but for other potentially hazardous situations such as distracted driving and fatigue.
“While a comprehensive system is the target … the benefits of early deployment vastly exceed the value of waiting for a perfect system,” the advisory group, made up of MADD, Consumer Reports and the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research, said in recommendations provided in April to the Transportation Department.
Alcohol-related driving fatalities have decreased steadily over the past three decades but experienced a slight uptick during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 13,000 people were killed in alcohol-impaired crashes in 2021, representing about 31% of all traffic fatalities.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety calculated that DADDS technology in cars could prevent 9,400 alcohol-related driving deaths annually.
Critics, including the American Beverage Institute, which represents over 8,000 restaurants, say even if the new sensor technology operates nearly perfectly, there could be more than 3,000 false readings every day.
Mr. Massie said he has little faith in an automated backseat driver that has the power to shut down your car.
His brand-new truck alerts him frequently with an icon suggesting he might be fatigued and to stop and have a cup of coffee, even though he’s not tired.
“It’s not always accurate. It’s not always helpful,” Mr. Massie said. “It’s just an annoyance. If that same system is wired into a shut-off switch, there are going to be a lot of people mad at their vehicles.”
