US regulators take first step toward mandating tech in cars to detect drunk drivers

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has taken the first step to requiring tech in vehicles that prevents drunk or impaired driving.

New cars may soon require technology that prevents drunk or impaired driving as U.S. auto safety regulators announced on Tuesday that they have taken the first step toward such a mandate.

The advanced notice will help set potential alcohol-impairment detection technology standards in all new passenger vehicles when the technology is mature, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) said.

These types of detection devices are required as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Congress passed in 2021.

"It is tragic that drunk driving crashes are one of the leading causes of roadway fatalities in this country and far too many lives are lost," Polly Trottenberg, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s deputy secretary, said in the statement.

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In 2021, the latest year for which data is available, 13,384 people were killed in drunk driving crashes, costing $280 billion in lost wages, lost quality of life and medical costs, the statement said.

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In December 2021, alcohol-impaired deaths hit a nearly 15-year high with more than 1,000 people killed in drunk driving crashes, the NHSTA said.

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The agency emphasized that the holiday season is an especially deadly time and announced its annual "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" enforcement campaign, during which law enforcement officers nationwide will step up efforts to get impaired drivers off the road from Dec. 13 through Jan. 1.