The infrastructure bill on bridges and tunnels being debated in the US Senate at present includes a mandate for car makers to include technology in new automobiles that prevents a car from starting if the driver is drunk.
The bill is not specific about what type of technology would be used and so there is no mandate to require the breathalyzers currently in use. For example, there is technology that might be used in touch sensors on a steering wheel or ignition start button to detect alcohol levels.
The Senate bill says only that the technology must “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired,” said Reuters.
However the bill states that any requirements by the DOT for interlocks must be “reasonable” and “practical.”
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