Critics are bemoaning a federal mandate that will turn new vehicles into a constant surveillance state.
MSN reports:
Under Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is required to finalize rules mandating “advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology” in all new passenger vehicles. This is not a proposal. It is federal law already in motion…
…The system works passively. You do not blow into anything or press any buttons. Infrared cameras mounted on steering columns or A-pillars watch your eyes, track your pupil dilation, and measure drowsiness patterns in real time. Unlike the breathalyzer ignition interlocks assigned to DUI offenders, this technology runs constantly in the background, building a biometric profile of how you look and behave while driving. If the system determines you are impaired — either by alcohol at or above the legal limit of 0.08% blood alcohol concentration, or by fatigue — it can block ignition startup or limit your vehicle’s speed. Some versions under consideration can also analyze erratic steering patterns or lane drifting as additional signals of impairment. The car, in effect, becomes the judge.
The surveillance itself is drawing ire from many critics; some might even accept the technology if it simply offered a warning. But the fact that this technology would enable the vehicle to make a decision about whether you can drive the vehicle or not is extremely distressing to many critics online.
One user pointed out that the technology could completely fail to assess the context of a situation. If a driver jumps into their vehicle because of an emergency, what if the technology detects the dilated pupils, the panic, and the atypical mannerisms and facial expressions, and determines you are unfit to drive?
This shocking mandate has drawn support from both sides of the aisle in Congress, with Congressman Thomas Massie as one of the primary opponents.
On X, he wrote, “Would you believe 57 Republicans and 211 Democrats recently voted in favor of this Orwellian automobile kill-switch?” Prominent Republican names in this group of 57 include Reps. Randy Fine (FL), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Brian Mast (FL), Elise Stefanik (NY), and Rob Wittman (VA).
Massie shouted out both Reps. Scott Perry (PA) and Chip Roy (TX) for their partnership in trying to defeat this “Orwellian mandate.”
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