Congress mandates new car technology to stop drunken driving
ABC News
Congress has created a new requirement for automakers: Find a high-tech way to keep drunken people from driving cars
WASHINGTON -- Congress has created a new requirement for automakers: Find a high-tech way to keep drunken people from driving cars.
It’s one of the mandates along with a burst of new spending aimed at improving auto safety amid escalating road fatalities in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that President Joe Biden is expected to sign soon.
Under the legislation, monitoring systems to stop intoxicated drivers would roll out in all new vehicles as early as 2026, after the Transportation Department assesses the best form of technology to install in millions of vehicles and automakers are given time to comply.
In all, about $17 billion is allotted to road safety programs, the biggest increase in such funding in decades, according to the Eno Center for Transportation. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday that could mean more protected bike paths and greener spaces built into busy roadways.
