Starting in 2027, federally mandated safety technology will begin rolling out in new cars that monitor eye and steering movements and use passive breathalyzers to detect whether a driver is drunk, fatigued or otherwise impaired.
“Yes, you read that right,” says cybersecurity expert Rafay Baloch. “A new active driver alertness system is coming to a car near you in the next three years. But who will actually want it?”
Here is what to know about this new vehicle surveillance tech, from its history, to what it means for road safety, personal privacy and cost.
History of the Laws Leading Here
The push for preemptive surveillance tech began in 2008, with a project called DADSS, or Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety. The effort was a collaboration between the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and automakers. Back in 2015, the advocacy group MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) also began lobbying for the tech.
Their efforts came to fruition with the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which directed NHTSA to require “advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology” to be used in all new passenger vehicles.
Originally, the new tech was supposed to be implemented by the 2026 to 2027 model year window, but as of yet, the tech isn’t ready. So while a few brands are launching preview options, it will probably be another few years before it’s fully in place.
What the Surveillance Tech Does
The system uses passive breath sensors to detect the driver’s blood alcohol concentration. It also uses infrared cameras to monitor eye movement, head position and steering behavior. If it detects impairment from drugs, alcohol, fatigue or health events, the system can lock the ignition or restrict the vehicle’s speed.
Pros of Impairment Surveillance Tech
Saving lives by keeping impaired drivers off the road, and having cars that pull over by themselves if a driver has a major health event, brings obvious safety benefits.
“Drunk driving kills about 13,000 people a year in the US, and that number has held steady for decades, so the passive prevention style could move a needle that has stalled in that regard,” says Heimlich.
Cons of Impairment Surveillance Tech
On the downside, these systems are constantly gathering biometric data, such as eye tracking, steering micro movements and breath composition. How that data might be used concerns civil liberties groups. For example, says Baloch, what is the car learning about the driver, and what will that be used for? Could it lead to greater surveillance? Could it be passed on to insurance companies, who will increase rates?
“The privacy issue is a huge problem,” says Julie Bausch Lent, managing editor of Car Talk. “For many, a car that is listening to everything and recording your every move is a little weird, and a privacy breach.”
Another concern is whether that data can be subpoenaed in proceedings that aren’t about impairment, says Heimlich. “Come to think of it, any connected vehicle that has over-the-air update capability means the pipeline between your dashboard and a cloud server is one firmware patch away from being live,” he says.
Other Concerns of Impairment Surveillance Tech
A major holdup for the technology’s implementation is false positives. Even a 1% failure rate means that tens of thousands of people could be locked out of their cars, even though they are not impaired.
“Imagine being a doctor in an emergency, and the car doesn’t start because you used too much alcohol-based hand sanitizer and tripped the sensor,” says charter rental CEO Anton Geier.
Another concern is how much adopting the technology will raise the price of new cars and subsequent repairs. It’s also unclear how it will affect insurance prices, says Bausch Lent. “There is concern that an older car that does not have this passive monitoring safety technology will be more expensive to insure,” she says.
Can This Tech Be Avoided?
Yes, for a while. You can still buy a car built before the law takes effect. There are also bills in Congress that could repeal this mandate. “However, as with everything else in the tech world, once things like this are out of the box, it is really hard to stuff them back in,” says Bausch Lent. “My guess is this type of tech will be in all new cars in the near future.”
FAQ
Will it be illegal to remove technology like this from your car?
Federal law already prohibits removing or disabling safety equipment. “That said, enforcement at the individual owner level has been next to none for equipment such as air bags or emissions hardware, outside of the inspection states,” says Heimlich. “Practical risk depends upon whether or not states adopt inspection protocols that check for active impairment monitoring.”
Is this tech coming to old cars?
At the moment, no. There is no talk about retrofitting old cars with this technology. It would also be mechanically impractical and prohibitively expensive to do so, especially for pre-2020 vehicles, says Heimlich.
About the Experts
- Julie Bausch Lent is managing editor of Car Talk, the digital content iteration of the long-running NPR show about all things automotive.
- Alan Heimlich is president and attorney at Heimlich Law, an intellectual property law firm in Silicone Valley, California. He also has 20 years of experiences as a hardware and software engineer.
- Rafay Baloch is CEO and founder of REDSECLABS, a security consulting and training services company. He was recognized among the “Top 5 Ethical Hackers of 2014” by Checkmarx.
- Anton Geier is CEO of BCS Bus, a European bus and minibus charter rental company.
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