Imagine sitting down behind the wheel of your new pickup truck or car. It’s got that new-car smell, and everything is shiny. You hit the button to start the engine, but instead of the sound of the starter, you hear a warning buzzer. Before starting the engine, you may need to take a breathalyzer test to drive. That could be the future, and a federal agency is sniffing into the matter right now.
“Impaired driving prevention technology”
NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is investigating the potential of a new rule that would mandate “impaired driving prevention technology” on new passenger vehicles.
The agency’s rationale is simple. “Alcohol-impaired driving is a major cause of crashes and fatalities on America’s roadways,” the agency wrote in a 105-page federal notice. “NHTSA has been actively involved in addressing alcohol-impaired driving since the 1970s. Recent developments in vehicle technology present new opportunities to further reduce drunk and impaired driving crashes and fatalities or eliminate them altogether.”
The statistics for carnage caused by impaired drivers is clear. In 2021, NHTSA says it recorded 13,384 deaths from drunk drivers. But just directing automakers to put impaired driving technology into their products is one thing. Having the technology work could be quite another.
Breathalyzer test to drive—but what about narcotics?
The agency says several different techno-approaches can be used to detect impairment. Not all requiring a “blow in the straw” approach. But it acknowledges there are some hurdles, such as “distinguishing between different impairment states, avoiding false positives and determining appropriate prevention countermeasures.” And what about non-alcoholic impairment? That’s not in the proposal because of “technology immaturity and a lack of testing protocols.”
At this point, NHTSA isn’t suggesting you’ll be forced to take a breathalyzer test before you drive any time soon. Their advance notice of proposed rulemaking is largely to gather information about the state of technology to detect impaired driving and about how to deploy technology safely and effectively, the agency said.
Public can comment
Once the notice is published in the Federal Register, the public will have 60 days to comment in a variety of areas, including privacy and security considerations, and consumer acceptance. To comment, click here and enter Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0079. NHTSA will review the comments and determine whether or not to move forward with a notice of proposed rulemaking.
According to a story published by Landline Media, Congress directed NHTSA to initiate the rulemaking. This was part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The law says that NHTSA should issue a new regulation only if it meets certain requirements. The National Traffic Motor Vehicle Safety Act says a proposed standard “must be reasonable, practicable and reduce traffic crashes and associated deaths.”
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Not any different than when authorities install one. The problem is anyone can blow into it, the passenger, a friend or anyone walking down the street. The vehicle will not know who’s behind the wheel. It’s already happened.
One could make a fistful of money waiting in the bar’s parking lot at closing time. Although, I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.
Exactly my thoughts who is really behind the wheel. I dont think the punishment has ever fit the crime. Pay $1500 go a AA program and go back driving and do it all over again. Or spend $5000 and get a slap on the wrist.
I’ve seen cameras lately that record who is blowing.
This couldn’t happen soon enough. I’ll bet most of the readers here have been touched in some way from intoxicated drivers.
I have but the courts allowed the drunk who affected my and my wife’s life got a hand slap and a small fine. Make the courts seriously prevent the drunk driver from thinking it’s no big deal! I don’t need a breathalyzer as I don’t drive drunk. I don’t need to be monitored.
More government intrusion. Comment? On a government website….are you kidding? The ineptitude of just accomplishing that level of intuitiveness in a website, should surely scare anyone from allowing the government to put breathalizers in new cars. Let alone any other government mandates. They don’t want our comments… Also, good luck affording a car in the future, the more government under the hood, the more money out of your pocket.
I was in Heavy Rescue of our fire company. This is long over due. How many lives are impacted by needless deaths and injuries in both loss of life and financial impacts? I have seen more than I care to caused from reckless decision making to get behind the wheel and knowingly drive while impaired. Usually it’s the innocent that is killed or maimed, not the driver. True, technology is in its’ infancy when dealing with impaired driving from all substances, but I can’t wait for it to be developed. I would like to see insurance and reinsurance companies foot some of the bill since it will ultimately reduce their payouts.
Another thing our government is sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong. Just like backup alarms on hybrid cars and backup cameras. But they don’t make it mandatory for backup cameras and reverse lights on TT. It’s ok to put breathalyzers in cars because they feel people get killed. But it’s ok to smoke in casinos and bars , but not on the beach of Pa state parks. Or smoke pot since the get tax dollars from the sale. Even though smoking pot causes cancer.
Thank you, Russ and Tina! I sympathize with their desire to address a problem, but some things (many things? all things?) work best if technology is used, operated by humans. This seems far too clumsy and imprecise a technology to simply incorporate it with no direct human oversight.
Just some more electronics to fail. Let’s get rid of the air bags that have been failing and being recalled since they were introduced. until they get THAT figured out. There are already too many recalls because the electronics screw up.
Exactly Kelly. Let’s find a new problem that we cannot solve instead of solving the current problems we cannot seem to solve. Distraction. Slight of hand.
How about we balance the budget 1 year in row, not even 2 years in a row, and then try something new to fail at.
As long as the manufacturers of the equipment are held accountable for false positive and negative and a second test is manually given to confirm what the result If it saves one life it is worth it.
Who is going to conduct this second test?
In theory this seems to be a really good idea. I think we probably have all seen the results of drunken drivers in one form or another. I also believe the technology would have to be almost fool proof first before it could be a mandated item for all new vehicle installations though.
We’ve recently seen that mandates need no proof that they work, so this is just more of the same. Nobody is in favor of drunk driving, just like no one is in favor of dirty water or bad air. But that doesn’t stop those in power from instituting mandates for anything and everything.
This seems to be a socialist approach to a problem with other solutions. Breathalyzers need to be calibrated every 30 to 90 days. How is that going to work for millions and millions of vehicles on the road? Our federal government has no clue how to live on a limited income as most families must.
Excellent idea! Now how about a system that disables the text or email function on a phone when driving as distracted driving now kills more people than drunk drivers?
As with everything the government does it’s a half baked idea because it’s thought up by lawyers who have no common sense. First it does not provide for an ID of the person blowing in the tube. Next it’s an invasion of my privacy as I’ve never tried to drive impaired but yet I’m going to be penalized financially to pay for something I don’t need. It’s going to have electronics so that is something else to go wrong, if you have an emergency and it fails what do you do? Hitch hike! Half baked!! Fire liberal judges who let impaired drivers off the hook, it’ll be cheaper and safer.