Imagine your 2026 car shutting off mid-drive because it thinks you’re impaired. That’s real! And you can find it in Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — a mandate still alive despite fierce pushback, set to raise car prices and spark debate.
Consumers are afraid of being put in “kill switch jail”, which I would define as a situation where this "kill switch" technology restricts drivers' freedom by shutting down their cars, effectively "jailing" them through loss of mobility and autonomy. How would get your vehicle to start, especially if you are not under the influence? There are no reset or restart protocols outlined in the law. NHTSA hasn’t finalized these rules yet, so any description of how a car restarts remains speculative based on current tech trends and the law’s intent.
There are millions of scenarios where people would be unable to start their vehicle when not under the influence. It’s expected to have multiple misreading and multiple failures on the system. Many law makers and drivers screamed out that this is dangerous, but the law passed anyway.
This is not just a gadget; it’s a computer judging us behind the wheel. When the bill passed, X erupted — drivers posted memes of cars as “nanny cops,” while safety groups cheered it as a lifeline. This was all passed under the idea of Alcohol Monitoring Technology, even though there are over 30 devices that work and this new device is on all new cars not older vehicles. The Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) suggests this system might use breath or touch sensors to detect alcohol levels. Why are we making every driver guilty even if they don’t drink or drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
A 2022 survey by the American Automobile Association (AAA) found 62% of Americans worry about tech overreach in cars, yet 55% support drunk-driving fixes. This clash — freedom versus safety — is why Section 24220’s so divisive.
As of March 31, 2025, it’s barreling toward reality. Can it be stopped? Will it save lives, or just pad profits for insurance companies? Or is it going to stop drivers from buying a 2026 model car? We don’t need more nannies in our cars. Here’s the latest, and what it means for your next ride.
Section 24220, tucked into the 1,100-page Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — signed by President Biden on November 15, 2021 — requires every new car sold after 2026 to include “advanced impaired driving technology.”
This means cameras, sensors, or breath detectors passively monitoring your driving to detect if you’re drunk, distracted, or drowsy. If flagged, the car could stall or refuse to start. The law cites 10,142 alcohol-impaired driving deaths in 2019, aiming to tackle a $44 billion problem from 2010 data — adjusted to roughly $60 billion today with inflation, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The pitch was: save lives and cut costs.
The details are murky at best. The tech could include the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and automakers since 2008 could have three technologies: a touch sensor on the steering wheel sniffing alcohol through your skin, targeting a .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) cutoff, a breath scanner in the cabin tracking exhaled air or the push button start/stop technology would detect if alcohol was in your system.
This information would partner with listening in the cabin and monitoring your eyes through the infrared sensors and cameras hidden in the dash or rear-view mirror to detect a possible issue. Who decides? A computer decides. Again, a possible “kill switch jail” issue, and no way to get past it, other than when a software program decides.
Tests in 2023 showed 85% accuracy, but Virginia Tech found cold weather or gloves disrupt it. Cameras, like those in Tesla’s driver-monitoring system, watch your eyes - slow blinks or glances away trigger alerts. Volvo’s 2024 XC90 flags fatigue, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports a 10% false-positive rate in dim light. These aren’t sci-fi toys; they’re real, flawed, and racing toward your dashboard. As of 2024, NHTSA has not defined the rules, with a possible three-year delay if tech isn’t ready. How about defunding and removing this rule?!
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has led the charge against it, calling it a “privacy nightmare” and “federal overreach.” In November 2023, his amendment to defund Section 24220 won 199 Republicans and 2 Democrats but failed with 229 to 201 votes, when 19 Republicans — including Nancy Mace, Mike Garcia, and Don Bacon - joined 210 Democrats to keep it alive.
Mace, a safety hawk after pushing a 2022 DUI crackdown in South Carolina, sees it as a legacy win, while Garcia’s district hosts tech firms like Qualcomm, hinting at job promises. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI) — representing General Motors, Toyota, and Ford — lobbied $12 million in 2021 to shape the bill, per OpenSecrets.
Democrats lean on NHTSA’s 2022 “Vision Zero” pledge for zero traffic deaths by 2050, but critics like Senator Rand Paul, in a 2023 speech, warn of a “surveillance state on wheels.” By February 2025, Massie grilled Michael Hanson of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) in a House hearing, demanding proof of this working tech.
Hanson admitted it’s untested at scale — unlike seatbelts, which have been standard in cars by the 1960s before mandates, or ignition interlock devices — breathalyzers that lock the car if you’re over the limit, which cuts repeat DUIs by 70%, per Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Massie’s still fighting, but time’s running short. 2026 models are being built starting this summer.
As of March 31, 2025, NHTSA’s rules remain unpublished. This is now in the hands of Secretary Sean Duffy. They can push it to 2027 with a progress report to Congress if tech lags, and with 2026 just months away, automakers are scrambling. A 2022 repeal attempt, the Safeguarding Privacy in Your Car Act (S.4647) from Senators Rounds, Braun, and Cornyn, sits stalled in committee. NHTSA’s January 2024 proposal floats camera options, eyeing production in 2025 — maybe. Without a repeal, this kill switch still looms over consumers.
The cost will hit drivers hard, by adding cameras, sensors, and artificial intelligence to vehicles could tack hundreds of dollars onto each of the millions of new cars sold yearly in the U.S. This equals a $3.4 to $8.5 billion annual jump, straight from buyers’ pockets. But with so many new safety systems being added (not just this one) the cost of new cars jump by thousands of dollars. By 2030, with 80% of cars connected, maintenance rises with sensors failing, software glitches, more shop visits this will increase the cost of insurance and ownership.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says this driver-monitoring tech could save 9,400 lives a year and erase a $60 billion burden from drunk driving: from lost jobs, hospital bills, and wrecked cars. In 2021, insurance companies paid out big for alcohol-related crashes, according to the Insurance Information Institute, but your premiums didn’t change — they just kept the extra cash. Hospitals didn’t lower bills either. That $60 billion saving goes to them, not you.
So, will it work? Drunk driving took over 12,000 lives in 2021, mostly from drivers over the legal limit, contributing to over 42,000 a total traffic death — a 16 year high, toll of 42,939 per NHTSA. Tougher laws and ignition interlock devices, such as breathalyzers that lock the car, have cut deaths by nearly a third since 1990, with millions installed, per Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Still, 2021’s jump sparked this push.
What about these high-tech in-car cameras? A 2024 study by the Swedish Transport Agency found Volvo’s Driver Alert Control system dropped fatigue crashes 20%, yet 15% of alerts were false. While this is a good example, glitches and privacy fears could tank drivers' trust in these new technologies.
Data on your speed or habits could leak to insurers (jacking up premiums), advertisers (targeting you with ads), or the police. NHTSA denies a police kill switch, but hacking or future laws could shift that. Supporters argue NHTSA's estimated 9,400 lives saves, justify it — if it’s flawless, which it definitely isn’t yet.
The 2026 deadline — set to sync with new models — gave automakers five years to get it done. By 2026, or 2029 if pushed, every new car could carry this new technology, raising prices and watching you like Big Brother. Massie has been applying pressure, but without a Senate breakthrough, expect that couple-hundred-dollar hike, no insurance relief, and a car that might misjudge you, sticking you in "kill switch jail."
So is this safety or overreach? What’s your take?
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Lauren Fix, The Car Coach is a nationally recognized automotive expert, media guest, journalist, author, keynote speaker and television host. A trusted car expert, Lauren provides an insider’s perspective on a wide range of automotive topics and safety issues for both the auto industry and consumers. Her analysis is honest and straightforward.