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[Docket No. NHTSA–2022–0079] RIN 2127–AM50
Advanced Impaired Driving Prevention Technology
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
Comments should be submitted no later than March 5, 2024.
Submit comments through web portal at:
Concerns you could raise either as questions or turn into statements of concern along with any of your own:
While this mandate was intended to help detect impaired and drunk drivers, we have significant concerns that the implementation of such a technology mandate will enable the ability to track vehicles and raises significant questions about the implications to constitutional rights and the mechanics of such a system. The potential to misuse this technology to surveil American citizens without a warrant poses a threat to constitutionally protected rights of freedom of association, as well as the protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
The American People need answers about this technology. We have grave concerns about its use against Americans, its safety implications, and potential for being ‘weaponized’ against drivers.
1) There is no definition of “impaired driving’ in statute (or in the Infrastructure Innovation & Jobs Act, known as IIJA). What is the difference between ‘impaired’ and ‘drunk' driving and what law was passed outlawing impaired driving that would allow you to prevent someone from using their vehicle if determined by a vehicle technology to be ‘impaired'? Drunk driving has a legal definition of .08 or above blood alcohol level and can be detected by breathalyzer or blood alcohol test. How would technology in a moving vehicle detect a driver at or above this level?
2) How will this technology work and does it exist presently?
a) Will it observe driver eye and head movement, or the motion of the vehicle, etc. to determine if a driver is impaired?
b) At what point does law enforcement confirm the vehicle’s assessment of the driver?
3) What does “passive monitoring” of vehicles entail?
a) Will it require inward facing cameras focused on the driver?
i) Will any video be stored and processed in real time?
ii) How long will data be stored and what privacy protections will be applied?
iii) Will data be limited to this application, or will it be available for other purposes (like for insurance companies to determine your auto insurance rates)?
4) How will this technology differentiate between a driver avoiding a pothole / object in the roadway with drunkenness?
5) What safeguards will be placed to ensure that the system does not falsely classify people with certain disabilities as impaired?
a) Will the system minimize false negatives or false positives? What relief will be available to those caught in false positive situations?
6) What are the safety implications of this technology?
a) Has the possibility of secondary accidents or other safety considerations been studied as it relates to this technology?
b) Was an evaluation done of the safety implications of stranding people on the side of the road?
7) How will a disabled car navigate traffic, potentially across multiple lanes, to pull off the road safely without creating dangerous hazards?
8) How long would a car be disabled and who determines the duration of the disability?
a) How would a stranded driver safely be removed from the disabled vehicle on the side of a road (especially on the driver side of a vehicle where opening a car door into high speed traffic in the adjacent vehicle lane could prove fatal)? Would the disabled vehicle need to be towed away, and at whose expense?
9) FHWA cites road construction, weather, and incidents/accidents as the top three reasons for congestion. How will this technology affect road congestion?
10) Who has access to the “passive monitoring” of vehicles, who monitors / controls it?
11) How secure is the “passive monitoring?”
12) Would law enforcement be notified every time a vehicle is disabled and how would a driver be determined to be drunk or impaired?
13) If other cars are hit due to a disabled vehicle, who’s liable, i.e., the driver’s or victim’s insurance, law enforcement, or other governmental entity?