Infrastructure Bill – Vehicle Safety Provisions
The United States Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in August that includes many long-awaited highway safety provisions. Requirements related to crash avoidance technology in large trucks and passenger vehicles are included in the bill. One such mandate is that passive alcohol-detection technology must be included in all new vehicles that will prevent impaired drivers from operating the vehicle.
The technology is designed to passively monitor the driver’s performance in order to accurately determine whether the driver is impaired. If impairment is detected, the technology would limit or prevent the operation of the vehicle.
Five-Year Timeline
This mandate does not go into effect immediately – the bill requires that the U.S. Transportation Department must set standards for the technology within three years. After those standards are set, auto manufacturers will have another two years to comply.
Life-Saving Technology
According to projections from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), alcohol-detection technology that prevents impaired driving could save at least 9,000 lives per year. Additionally, the technology will lower the approximately $44 billion in costs related to annual drunk driving deaths. Police officers in the United States make about a million drunk driving arrests each year.
The advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has been trying to pass a bill with similar mandates for several years. Their proposed bill was entitled the Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone (RIDE) Act. The organization is pleased that this infrastructure bill included similar requirements.
MADD sponsored a nationwide poll, conducted by Ipsos, which revealed that 9 out of 10 people in the U.S. supported integrated vehicle technology that prevents drunk driving. 89% of respondents said it was a good/great idea, and 77% supported federal action that requires such technology in new cars.
Watch the YouTube video. The clip below clears up some confusion about the type of alcohol-detection systems required by the infrastructure bill.
Will Drug-Impairment Be Detected?
It is not yet clear whether the technology will be limited to alcohol impairment or if it may extend to drug-impaired driving. This has become a larger issue as more and more states legalize marijuana use, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). That agency conducted a study in 2015 that found that approximately 16% of all traffic collisions were caused by drivers impaired by drugs.
Despite the lack of clarity, the infrastructure bill is not silent on drug-impaired driving. It includes a section called “Drug-Impaired Driving Data Collection” that creates a timeline for specific federal agencies to identify methods to improve the reporting of toxicology test results after auto accidents. It is followed by a section that calls for a report identifying the barriers to establishing a national system for research on marijuana impairment and driving. The deadline for the completion of that report is two years.
Sacramento Car Accident Injury Lawyer
Hello and thank you for reading our piece on the mandate of alcohol-detection systems. My name is Ed Smith, and I am a Sacramento car accident injury lawyer. Accidents happen every day on the roads and highways located throughout the greater Sacramento area. Injuries from a car accident can upend your life. Recovery from severe injuries can be prolonged. Medical bills stack up, and often time from work is missed. All of this can add up to significant financial problems on top of pain and suffering. A skilled injury lawyer can ensure that your claim against the negligent person who caused the accident is presented in such a way that your financial recovery is maximized.
To receive free and friendly legal advice, call us at (800) 404-5400 or (916) 921-6400. You may also reach out to us by using our online form.
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Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/drink-driving-drunk-alcohol-808801/
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