Washington, November 9 (BUS): Congress has created a new requirement for automakers: Find a high-tech way to stop drunk people from driving.
It’s one of the mandates along with an influx of new spending aimed at improving car safety amid mounting road deaths in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that President Joe Biden is expected to sign soon.
Under the legislation, monitoring systems to stop drunk drivers will be rolled out in all new vehicles as early as 2026, after the Department of Transportation evaluates the best form of technology for installation in millions of vehicles, and gives automakers time to comply, the AP reports.
In all, about $17 billion has been allocated to road safety programs, the largest increase in such funding in decades, according to the Eno Transportation Center. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday that could mean more protected bike lanes and green spaces built into busy roads.
“It’s massive,” said Alex Otti, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Otti called the package “the single most important piece of legislation” in the group’s history that marked “the beginning of the end of drunk driving.”
“It will virtually eliminate the number one killer on America’s roads,” she said.
Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that an estimated 20,160 people died in traffic collisions in the first half of 2021, the highest total in the first half since 2006. The agency cited speeding, poor driving, and lack of wear Seat belts during the corona virus. Epidemic as factors behind the rise.
Each year, about 10,000 people die from alcohol-related accidents in the United States, making up nearly 30% of all traffic deaths, according to the NHTSA.
Currently, some convicted drunk drivers must use breathalyzers connected to an ignition switch, blow into a tube and disable the vehicle if their blood alcohol level is too high. The legislation does not specify the technology, it should only “passively monitor the performance of the motorist to determine whether that driver has been impaired”.
The system most likely to prevent drunk driving are infrared cameras that monitor driver behavior, said Sam Abuelsamid, principal mobility analyst at Guidehouse Insights. This technology is already being installed by automakers such as General Motors, BMW and Nissan to track a driver’s attention while using partially automated driver assistance systems.
The cameras make sure that the driver is watching the road, and that they are looking for signs of drowsiness, loss of consciousness or weakness.
If signs are spotted, the cars will warn the driver, and if the behavior continues, the car will turn on its hazard lights, slow down and pull to the side of the road.
Abu al-Samed said spirometers are not a viable solution because many people would object to being forced to blow into a tube every time they got into the car. “I don’t think things are going to go very well with a lot of people,” he said.
The massive bill also requires automakers to install rear-seat reminders to alert parents if a child is inadvertently left in the back seat, a mandate that could begin as early as 2025 after NHTSA completes its own rule-making on the issue. Since 1990, about 1,000 children have died from heat stroke after the highest one-year total was 54 in 2018, according to Kidsandcars.org.
Meanwhile, Congress has directed the agency to update outdated safety standards to avoid deaths from front seat backs collapse and issue a rule requiring automatic emergency braking and lane departure warnings in all passenger vehicles, though no date has been set for compliance.
Most automakers have already agreed to make standard emergency braking equipment on most of their models by September next year, as part of a voluntary plan announced in the final weeks of the Obama administration.
Buttigieg, who is touting the benefits of the legislation at a White House news conference, said he has traveled to the country in recent months and seen too many roadside memorials to people who died in avoidable traffic accidents.
He noted the new $5 billion “Safe Streets and Roads for All” program under his department that will, in part, promote healthier streets for cyclists and pedestrians. The federal program, which he acknowledged could take several months to prepare, would support cities’ campaigns to end traffic deaths with a “Vision Zero” effort that could build traffic vanes to slow cars, create new bike paths, widen sidewalks and even reduce some routes to divert commuters toward public transportation or Other means of transportation.
Legislation requires at least 15% of the state’s Highway Safety Improvement Program funds to treat pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorized road users if these groups account for 15% or more of road fatalities in the state.
“The best way to allow people to commute in ways that are better for congestion and better for the climate is to give them alternatives,” Buttigieg said. Describing it many as a long-term effort, he said, “This is how we do it right by the next generation.”
However, safety advocates are concerned that the bipartisan bill has missed opportunities to deal more aggressively with an emerging US crisis over road deaths, and have urged the Department of Transportation to provide immediate solutions.
They’ve called on the sometimes slow-moving NHTSA to address the backlog of traffic safety regulations that Congress has ordered nearly a decade ago, such as mandatory rear seat belt reminders. The administration recently said it would launch a “Safe System Approach” to road safety in January that outlines safety measures for drivers, roads, vehicles, speeds and post-collision medical care.
“Immediate action must be taken on comprehensive, sensible and emphatic solutions to guide our country towards zero traffic fatalities,” said Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “Proven solutions are at hand; time to take action.”
RAE