In
2021, Congress directed the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) to mandate a passive technology to try to
avert more than 10,000 road deaths annually. The law requires a
new technology safety standard by November 2024 if the
technology is ready.
There are a number of potential technologies under development
that would prevent impaired people from starting a vehicle,
including breath- or touch-based sensors to detect alcohol.
Another potential option is using cameras to monitor eye
movements to try to determine if drivers are intoxicated.
Still, NHTSA must be assured the technology works before it can
require it, and then give automakers at least three years to
implement it once it finalizes rules.
"We are trying to see can we get it done, does the technology
exist in a way that is going to work every time," Acting NHTSA
Administrator Ann Carlson said, adding that public acceptance of
the technology would depend on its accuracy.
Carlson said there were close to 1 billion separate daily
driving journeys in the United States.
"If it's 99.9% accurate, you could have a million false
positives," Carlson said. "Those false positives could be
somebody trying to get to the hospital for an emergency."
The NHTSA on Tuesday published an "advance notice of proposed
rulemaking" to begin the process of gathering information on how
such technology could be developed and required.
Its regulatory notice details the research and technological
advancements needed to finalize regulations and options for
potential rules, citing "Blood alcohol content detection,
impairment-detection (driver monitoring), or a combination."
Mothers Against Drunk Driving President Tess Rowland said the
group was "very pleased" with NHTSA's launch.
"We understand we still have a mountain to climb," Rowland said.
"Victims and survivors are not going to let this die."
In 2021, 13,384 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic
deaths, the most recent statistics available.
Separately, Carlson will tell a U.S. House of Representatives
committee on Wednesday that U.S. traffic deaths fell 4.5% in the
first nine months of the year after sharply rising during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
"While we are optimistic that we're finally seeing a reversal of
the record-high fatalities seen during the pandemic, this is not
a cause for celebration," Carlson's written testimony says.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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