(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) On Dec. 12, 2023, auto safety regulators announced their desire to watch over the population of the United States by requiring car manufacturers to install surveillance technology in new cars, pretending that it is to detect drunk or impaired driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHSTA] said that the advanced notice will help set potential alcohol-impairment detection technology in all new vehicles, according to the Daily Fetched.
These kinds of detection devices are required as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Congress passed back in 2021.
“It is tragic that drunk driving crashes are one of the leading causes of roadway fatalities in this country, and far too many lives are lost,” Polly Trottenberg, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s deputy secretary, said in a statement.
In 2021, 3,384 people were killed in drunk driving crashes, which cost $280 billion in lost wages, the statement said.
Alcohol-impaired deaths hit a nearly 15-year high, with more than 1,000 people killed due to drunk driving crashes in 2021, according to NHSTA.
“We are trying to see whether we can get it done. Does the technology exist in a way that is going to work every time?” Acting NHTSA Administrator Ann Carlson said.
She also added that there were close to 1 billion separate daily driving journeys in the United States.
“If it’s 99.9% accurate, you could have a million false positives. Those false positives could be somebody trying to get to the hospital for an emergency,” Carlson said.
On Dec. 13, 2023, Carlson separately told a U.S. House of Representatives committee that U.S. traffic deaths fell 4.5% in the first nine months of the year after sharply rising during the COVID-19 hysteria.
“While we are optimistic that we’re finally seeing a reversal of the record-high fatalities seen during the pandemic, this is not a cause for celebration,” according to Carlson’s written testimony.
It wasn’t the first time when the leftists in government made their attempts to become America’s Big Brother.
Two bills were passed at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, forcing automakers to install dashcams for “spying on bad drivers” and implement a new “kill switch” technology that prevents drivers from using their cars in the first place.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also vowed to redesign roads and “boost” car safety features like automatic emergency braking.
