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The bipartisan infrastructure bill includes a clause that would require auto manufacturers to put "advanced alcohol monitoring systems" in all new cars.
According to The Washington Free Beacon, the proposal is over 2,700 pages, but buried in there is the section, "ADVANCED IMPAIRED DRIVING TECHNOLOGY," which mandates that new vehicles include "a system that … passively and accurately detect[s] whether the blood alcohol concentration of a driver of a motor vehicle is equal to or greater than the blood alcohol concentration" of .08, in which case the system would "prevent or limit motor vehicle operation."
The exact type of monitoring system that would be required isn't clear at this time, however, in a report by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), they recommend "driver monitoring systems, touch-based systems that can read your blood alcohol concentration through your fingertips and air-sampling systems that can test and isolate just the air exhaled by the driver."
The bill says the new technology would "prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit is detected."
The bill has been sent to the Senate, but a final vote has not yet taken place. Automobile manufacturers would have three years to comply with the regulation if it's passed.
The breathalyzer's of the old days:
Bill Require Alcohol Monitoring New Cars
