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Republican U.S. Congressman and Texas Attorney General candidate Chip Roy is attempting to repeal legislation requiring technology in vehicles designed to combat drunk driving. Advocates say it represents a step back.
When former President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law in 2021, the legislation included the HALT Drunk Driving law. Long sought by anti-drunk-driving advocates, the law sets requirements for new vehicles in the U.S. to be equipped with advanced impaired driving technology that detects impaired drivers and, if necessary, prevents them from driving via a so-called “kill switch.”
Roy has added an amendment to the GOP’s upcoming Foreign Intelligence Security Act renewal to repeal the section of the infrastructure bill requiring the technology to be added to all new non-commercial motor vehicles. Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie filed a similar amendment in January to prevent funding for the initiative, although 57 fellow GOP representatives joined with Democrats in voting to maintain the requirements.
The “kill switch,” Roy argues, is a government overreach that violates U.S. citizens’ civil liberties.
“Do you really want to put that kind of data collection mandated inside every car? At what point is there just literally no privacy at all anywhere? A lot of Americans died to protect our Fourth Amendment rights so that we don’t have government looking at our stuff,” Roy said at an April 28. Committee meeting.
As set forth in a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, the technology will utilize passive, consumer-ready mechanisms to detect impairment in motor vehicles. Breathalyzers and other traditional methods for detecting blood alcohol content do not fall under that definition. Instead, cars would have camera systems and vehicle-based sensors capable of identifying a drunk driver.
U.S. Rep Keith Self from Collin County has also voiced opposition to the technology. On Wednesday, Self tweeted, “Imagine a woman fleeing an attacker—and her car won’t start because it thinks she’s impaired. Imagine a farmer injured on the job—his truck won’t start because it thinks he’s drunk.”
According to data from the Texas Department of Transportation, over 1,500 people were killed in drunk driving incidents in 2023.
‘Doesn’t Make Sense’
Advocacy groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), which was active in advancing the HALT Drunk Driving law, warn that fears over the technology are overblown. In a statement, the group said the notion of a “kill switch” is detached from reality.
“Anti-drunk driving technology saves lives and does not compromise individual freedoms. No one has the right to drive drunk,” the statement reads. “The bipartisan HALT Drunk Driving law only impacts those who choose to get behind the wheel while illegally drunk or high—and the false ‘government-controlled kill switch’ claim is just that: FALSE. Let’s be clear: these claims are complete fabrications designed to scare the public. It is unacceptable that elected officials would tolerate the loss of 32 Americans every day to a preventable, violent crime while spreading falsehoods for political gain.”
MADD has argued that the technology will not collect any more data than is already being collected in most modern vehicles. The section of the Infrastructure Act addressing the technology does not address data collection, which MADD said it “does not support.”
Sheila Lockwood is the national ambassador for MADD. Her son was killed by a drunk driver in 2018, and since then, she has lobbied for legislation at the state and federal levels.
In an interview, she described her reaction to the passage of the HALT law as emotionally-charged and said Roy’s amendment “doesn’t even make any sense.”
“It’s frustrating, it’s aggravating, and honestly, it’s heartbreaking,” Lockwood said. “Just get the technology out there. I mean, what do we have to lose?”
The requirements are supposed to take effect in late 2026. MADD has said the technology could save up to 12,000 lives a year, roughly corresponding with the total number of drivers annually killed in drunk driving incidents in the U.S, according to NHTSA data.
MADD engages in education efforts designed to prevent impaired individuals from considering driving. But those efforts only go so far, Lockwood said, underscoring the technology’s potential for prevention.
“Unfortunately, people have addiction issues and personal issues,” she said. “Once you start drinking and your decision-making has been altered, bad choices are made. So getting into a vehicle that will start but not shift into drive if you are legally impaired is the way that we’re going to save lives.”
Lockwood said she is “confident” that the amendment will fail to gain support as Massie’s attempt did in January.
“You don’t wish this on anybody, but just think about if this happened to your family member,” she said. “I mean, wouldn’t you be fighting for it too? And it’s not going to bring my son back, but I don’t want any other family to go through what I’ve gone through.”
