11/08/2023
Auto ‘kill switch’ on chopping block in House spending bill
By Susan Ferrechio - The Washington Times - Tuesday, November 7, 2023
The House took up a measure on Tuesday to block federal funding of a mandate for technology that would measure driver behavior and shut down vehicles if it detects drunken driving or other impairment.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, backed by at least a dozen other Republicans, introduced legislation to stop the mandate.
Under the mandate, automobile manufacturers must equip all new vehicles, beginning in 2026, with cameras and sensors to detect intoxication and, eventually, other dangerous driving behaviors.
The technology would prevent cars from operating if the sensors determine the driver is impaired. Critics say the technology is imperfect and intrusive and would leave motorists stranded and subject them to unconstitutional snooping, among other problems.
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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.
The mandate became law with little fanfare or notice, but the technology has been quietly under development for years.
Mr. Massie said he believes most Republicans and even Democrats will support his defunding effort out of concern that the technology could harm motorists.
He warned that the nascent technology could misinterpret navigation of icy roads in a blizzard or other road conditions as impairment and then strand motorists.
“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 back-seat driver.”
Many lawmakers were unaware of the mandate, which was tucked into the 2,700-page, $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed with bipartisan support and signed by Mr. 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 partnered for years to develop a Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, or DADSS. 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 prevents the car from moving.
The system has 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 that DADSS technology for vehicles would save thousands of lives a year.
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.
It will be expanded eventually to detect and shut down cars not only for drunken driving but also 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 and Policy, said in recommendations provided in April to the Transportation Department.
Alcohol-related driving fatalities have decreased steadily over the past three decades but showed 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 DADSS technology in vehicles could prevent 9,400 alcohol-related driving deaths annually.
Critics such as the American Beverage Institute, which represents more than 8,000 restaurants, said even nearly perfect sensor technology could result in more than 3,000 false readings every day.
Mr. Massie said he has little faith in an automated back-seat driver that has the power to shut down a car.
His new truck alerts him frequently with an icon suggesting that he might be fatigued and to stop and have a cup of coffee, even though he doesn’t feel 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.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at [email protected]
