U.S. to mandate anti-drunk-driving tech, GM sacrifices heated seats, Bondurant passes at 88

[Hagerty]

Intake: Automakers are likely to soon receive another mandate from Congress. As part of the $1 trillion infrastructure package that the President is expected to sign soon, automobile manufacturers will be required, as early as 2026, to equip all new vehicles with monitoring systems designed to keep intoxicated persons from driving.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/the-manifold/2021-11-15/

[CitationMan]

We are all offenders now. Good to know.
There is no “side of the road” where I live. The white line is the shoulder, then there’s either a drop off or it’s heavily wooded.

[janedon]

No worries if you don't drink & drive--The same as photo radar--Obey the law & no problems--This "I'm only going a short ways" OR I've only had a Few drinks just doesn't cut it-- I see Soooo many people at restaurants or bars or freinds homes having a Few drinks & driving home--& somehow--they think it's OK because they are not falling down Drunk-- NO-It's not OK-

[HoustonNurse]

I hope this tech works better than the "lane alert" systems... we have a freeway near me that was so poorly designed and took so long to construct that there were numerous revisions of the painted lines... my BMW and Corvette as well as my friend's NEW VW all can't decide where the lanes are.. so constantly jiggling, jerking or something along that freeway. But still have a problem where all are assumed guilty before even starting the car. And I WILL black out the camera lens.... we have enough surveillance....

[BMD4800]

So you’re good with a safety check at any time, for any reason?
People who are sleep deprived or distracted are just as dangerous. People who are under the influence of narcotics are significantly more dangerous.
Mandating this and that intrusive feature in the name of safety isn’t going to make an appreciable difference, while simultaneously eroding the concept of personal responsibility.
Depending on a person’s height, weight, metabolism, and ability to process alcohol, a couple drinks may not make them any more dangerous than the under-caffeinated Mom who had very little REM sleep the night before.

[mgbfastback]

That is getting too "Big Brother" for me. If new cars have to have this in 2026 then I know my last new car will be a 2025 and with all of the new electronics that are coming out I might have bought my last new car in 2019.

[janedon]

you comment tells me you do drink & drive-Even if your Not falling down drunk--It's Not OK-

[mgbfastback]

Actually I don't drink at all.  But I also do not need too have "Big Brother" assuming that I am not a responsible person.  And Holier than thou  comments like yours are what drives people like me nuts.

[HoustonNurse]

Kind of judgmental don't ya think? I don't want any any more monitoring, watching over my shoulder.... and if we actually punished drunk drivers.. this wouldn't happen. I Love my wine/whisky and take tours all over the country. But NEVER drive drunk or after any drink of any kind. That being said........ the 19yr old drunk TURD that killed my nephew got 6 months in a halfway house... because the judge didn't want to "ruin any more lives." He was on a "hardship" driving permit pending another drunk driving incident at the time he killed my nephew... maimed 2 others in the car too. Oh yeah... this jerk had the nerve to move in down the street from my mom... he drives by daily... on the way to HIS wife and kids..... So.... where is the deterrence to drunk driving? Next there will be breath tests to open the door to get out of the house?

[CJinSD]

Your comment tells me that you are have no business living in a free country.

[Dond]

Funny, I thought one could express one's opinion in a "free country" .

[CJinSD]

Her opinion is that everyone should be assumed to be a criminal and treated like a criminal. My opinion is that she is an evil authoritarian who wants to ruin the country. Is she at any risk of being deported and stripped of her citizenship? Because a bunch of people who lied when they took their oaths of office are in the process of stripping us of the Bill of Rights, so your comment is singularly tone deaf. 

[BMD4800]

janedon, you ever drive on prescription pain meds? While talking on the phone? Yelling at a couple misbehaving kids in the back? While sleepy?

Alcohol is a sedative and it does slow response time, but it isn’t a universal 2 drinks and drunk situation. There is more to it and a breathalyzer is not as accurate as a blood test, but let’s take your example.

Bill is is a man, 6’2”, 225 lbs, bill works in construction and isn’t fat, just a working man. He gets to Pepper’s Bar and Grill with Jill. Bill gets a 12 oz BudLight, chugs it while waiting for chips and salsa. He has 2 more 12 oz Bud Lights with dinner, after 2 hours he and Jill are ready to roll. Bill’s BAC? 0.04%.
Jill, well she’s a dainty flower. She’s 5’1”, 103 lbs. She eats like a bird, but loves a good mixed drink. She nursed the same Margarita the entire time, 2 hours. What’s her BAC? 0.08%

Now, you can say no amount is okay, and that’s your right, but we still have a little freedom and we have a limit for a reason.

After pulling a dead kid out of a car seat in a civic, I think putting an infant in a compact car should be criminal negligence.

See, anecdotal evidence is fun. Freedom is funner.

[janedon]

BMD-- your using the Same argument drinkers have always made -"I can drive just fine after a few drinks" (I can handle my booze better than Most folks)---  There is No reason to drink & drive -Ever-- 

[BMD4800]

No, I’m talking freedom and a statutory limit, personal responsibility and the balance of my rights against yours.  

You missed my point and I’m sad for you that your anger and hatred has taken you down the road on a personal quest of imposing your will of temperance upon everyone else.  

Multiple studies have shown driving while distracted or sleepy is far more dangerous, as these occur when more people are likely on the roadway, than after a small amount of alcohol.  

Have you ever studied vehicle occupant mortality rates, especially with kids?   If you want to save lives, start calling for an end to the CAFE standard and misleading safety tests.   

You’re not about that, you use specious reasoning that because someone you cared about was hurt by someone who had too much to drink and was unsafe behind the wheel, you want to knee jerk and take away the freedom and RESPONSIBILITY of everyone else.   

Should I chastise everyone for putting little kids in very small cars and drive on freeways?  No, that’s insane.  I refuse to put my kids at an elevated risk and if someone asks why, I’ll share a reasoned explanation, not shut down every possible counter point with no one should do it EVER.   

BTW, I don’t drink and drive, and I don’t consume alcohol outside my home, but that’s MY choice.  

your results may vary.  

[sclin10]

"As soon as 2026, Congress could require in-car tech to stop intoxicated driving."
As if new cars aren't expensive enough now!

[mvillmer]

My thoughts exactly.

[BMD4800]

All these busses and trains need passengers.

[Maestro1]

This is very simple: Don't drink and drive. Grow up.
Sorry to hear about Bondurant, who I met at the Sonoma Raceway in California years ago.
I was foolish enough to consider taking his driving courses when sanity took over and I didn't sign up (I was mildly disabled at the time). Blessings to him and those who mean the most to him.
Hagerties stay well.

[Dstb888]

I don’t care if I never drank a drop in my life. This is an extreme invasion of privacy and I would never do it.

[JGeske]

As a fan of craft beer and good Scotch, and someone who has never driven drunk, I would gladly give up both to keep this crap out of the cars.

That said, I should not have to give up my booze or tolerate this tech, by far an example of the ridiculous overreach going on by this Congress. Their rationale doesn't even hold up. 10k annual deaths from drunk driving? It is sad and terrible, but how about they first consider outlawing or mitigating tobacco sales to stop the 480k annual US deaths from that? Seems more good could come from that (48 times as much). Also, ask tow truck drivers how often they have to deal with non-functional interlocks for those cars currently equipped. Short version: if this goes through expect a lot of people calling in to work because their car didn't start, possible because they used mouthwash prior to leaving for work.

[janedon]

Just don't drink & drive--Simple-

[BMD4800]

Don’t drive sleepy, angry, while listening to heavy metal, and no dancing. You hear me?!

No dancing!

[HoustonNurse]

Can't agree more... this control and oversight from a government giving free needles and Narcan kits to drug users...... and places like california don't even try to enforce drug laws and prevent law enforcement from working to prevent ILLEGALS from committing crimes........ but everyone will be considered guilty of drunk driving even before they turn on the car?

[janedon]

Your saying you drink & drive sometimes--

[Dstb888]

Drinking and driving is perfectly legal if you are not over the limit. You don’t need to take people's privacy and freedom to fix this problem. All you need to do is lock up the criminals.

[BMD4800]

And Karen’s need a curfew.

[BMD4800]

Some times I make a game of it.

Every time I see an open recycle bin, I toss a bottle. 10 points it if goes in, 5 if it shatters on the edge, 0 points I hit my own mailbox.



(/sarc … if you didn’t read into that).

[C7W289]

My airbag light came on about 20 years ago, and there are no clocksprings available, so it just glows. At least it is just a light. That's all I need is another electronic device that not only starts acting up after a few years, but one that stops your car when it does. I'm not sure how to stop 10K deaths a year from drunk driving, but I sure would not want a car with this feature.

[mfp4073]

I probably missed the part about the biggest distraction in a car today. Is it alcohol? Funny thing here. My mom is retired from law enforcement, 40 years I think. She says the biggest problem is Cell Phones!. She says at almost every accident, a phone probably had some part in it. Either reaching for it, using it, or playing with it. Many officers will agree. So why is there no mention about finally removing this scourge from our roads and highways. "Lets do an unofficial pole." Everybody that's almost been smashed by someone playing with a cell phone while driving raise your hand! Yep!

[Dstb888]

Cell phones have GPS mapping so they are now necessary. The problem is alcoholic repeat offenders who don’t just drive on 2 or 3 beers but completely hammered. And they do it over and over. If these people were locked up as they should be serious injuries and deaths would drop tremendously.

[CitationMan]

Spot on. When you read of a tragic event, it’s always a repeat offender with a rap sheet a mile long. The police and states attorneys know who these people are, so focus on them, not us. And put these erratic behavior cameras in offices in Washington DC if you really want to solve problems.

[btukwh]

Not always. A long rap sheet has to start somewhere.

[CitationMan]

........and that’s how you get a breathalyzer in every car.

[janedon]

How is that bad? Unless you drink & drive?

[CitationMan]

I don’t drink and drive, I’m not a mind reader, and I don’t tell other people what to do.

[CJinSD]

Get one installed in your car tomorrow and live with it. Then get back to us. I ran a shop for years, and trying to get cars with alcohol interlocks to start was about as easy as starting a fire with chopsticks.

[BMD4800]

It isn’t bad, but I’m trying to smoke some recreational pharmaceuticals, so I’m good!

You’re logic is flawed. Please stop.

[JGeske]

Exactly, we need to crack down on the repeat offenders rather than inconvenience the entirety of society. I work with several people who lost loved ones to drunk drivers, yet I would be certain these individuals would also disagree with the approach by Congress. I am from Wisconsin, with some of the laxest drunk driving laws in the country, and it sickens me when I see local headlines about the guy getting arrested for his 8th DUI, when his license was suspended after the 3rd. Clearly taking the license did not stop him. I think that after the 2nd DUI, your vehicle should be seized, and you should not legally be able to purchase a motor vehicle of any type until proof of a program is completed. You should be given a monitoring anklet so that law enforcement can do random checks whenever you are moving at a vehicle speed to confirm if you are a passenger or driving.

[BMD4800]

Plenty of big rocks need to be made into little rocks.

[SS396]

I think cars should be equipped with a devise that blocks cell phone use when the car is in gear.....GPS be damned. Drivers using cell phones are killing more people!

[janedon]

I've been hit by a person on their phone/Hit by a drunk (not falling down drunk(just a few drinks)-/one time by a woman distracted by her kids--None of this is OK--

[Dstb888]

This has little to do with drunk driving and is far more about never ending government control of our lives. Most incidents of serious injury and death are caused by alcoholic repeat offenders who should have been locked up in the first place. There are so many issues here so I will only cite one. Safety. You need your car to get somewhere in a hurry and the breathalyzer malfunctions and the car doesn’t start. But innocent people are always cast aside to force through a bad agenda. As said by another poster here, if this goes through my last new car purchase will happen before 2026.

[Gary_Bechtold]

Congress mandating more safety is just ridiculous. This does not help solve any issues but does make cars more expensive.

[Joee383]

Typical...let the offenders slide while everyone else gets punished.
Midterms next year, keep the anger flowing.

[Reinhold_Weege]

just praying it gets so bad there is a revolt at the ballot box; is the only way I can get through this.

[MATTMERICA]

Nothing surprised me when it comes to GM. Idiots. And it starts at the top.....

[MATTMERICA]

Newsflash:
When you let the government "fix" things, you are truly screwed. The intoxicated driver thing will never happened. Too invasive, too few proponents, and nobody has asked for it.

[bblhed]

I do like the idea of making the roads safer, but how will this be monitored, and will there be a fee? I have heard stories about DUI monitoring companies charging huge fees and reposing cars over them, I really don't want that. Also What is to stop someone from keeping a tank of sober air in the car?

[elldorado2000]

So even though a fraction of the people in the US drink the bulk of the alcohol, they want manufacturers to put tech in EVERY car that would make it hard for a drunk driver to drive his or her car. So we ALL have to pay. When is this nonsense going to stop