US agency takes first step toward requiring new vehicles to prevent drunk or impaired driving
US agency takes first step toward requiring new vehicles to prevent drunk or impaired driving
U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving.
U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Tuesday that it is starting the process to put a new federal safety standard in place requiring the technology in all new passenger vehicles.
Such devices were required in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed by Congress in 2021.
The agency says an advance notice of proposed rule making will help it gather information about the state of technology to detect impaired driving. The regulation would set standards for the devices once technology is mature, NHTSA said in a statement.
One item per bill.
This didn't have bipartisan support. This wasn't debated. Neither you nor I had any representation whatsoever on this issue, it was proposed by an obscure lobby group and someone tacked it onto something that actually mattered.
Who actually wants to buy a breathalyzer as a required option on a new car?
I wonder what insiders are getting kickbacks for this.
Each feature added to a car raises the price by more than it costs to add.
Me. I'm getting kickbacks. I'm gonna find investors to open up a school for people to learn how to build their own car from scratch!
Fuck with me government!
I admire your enthusiasm.
Horrible idea. False positives are gonna get people fired.
Can a car be disabled by pouring a cup of vodka through the window?
Or by having a sufficiently drunk passenger?
I'm worried because I use hand sanitizer in my car.
Gonna carry around a spray bottle of booze to prank people.
Breathalyzers don't test for alcohol. They measure metabolites from alcohol
What, like a breathalyzer in every car?
"technology that would automatically test a driver’s breath for alcohol and stop a vehicle from moving if the driver is impaired. The driver wouldn’t have to blow into a tube, and a sensor would check the driver’s breath.
Another company is working on light technology that could test for blood alcohol in a person’s finger, the group has said."
So now we can see who has a profit incentive to control US policy on this matter.
Meanwhile Mazda is claiming ownership of information about their customers' sex lives!
So what if the passenger is drunk? This seems like an awful idea
No it's alcohol sensors on the steering wheel, like the scram bracelet.
It's about $2 in sensors and the technology is 80 years old. It can wired up as an on/off switch, it doesn't require telephony
The fact that it hasn't been done already should be criminal in itself.
What about driving gloves?
Welp, guess I'll just have to start smoking crack.
Picked a good day
Great intentions, but I'm a bit worried about how the non-contact breath detection will work, if you're sober and giving your wasted friend(s) a ride home from the bar. BAC detection by touch might be better, if they can make it work that is.
Seeing how cars with Super-cruise have eye tracking, why not roll impaired & distracted driving into one safety package.
Eye tracking has become a reliable neuroscience tool for identifying the eye movements that are linked to impairments caused by alcohol use disorders. For example, a machine-learning model has been developed to detect alcohol intoxication based on a person's eye gaze and eye closure. (From Google's generated cliff notes)
Disabling a vehicle if the driver isn't looking at the road for x seconds might be a bit drastic. I could imagine e.g. muting the volume if not at the very least glancing at the road every 2~3 seconds. Would piss off a lot of people, then not long thereafter teach them to pay attention to where they are going.
I'm putting electric tape over any camera inside my house and vehicle. I'm glad my vehicle is older.