In the article, “Cars That Stop Drunk Driving” (BTW) I learned that drunk driving is the leading cause of death on America’s roadways; it causes 30% of all traffic fatalities. With the passing of President Biden’s Infrastructure bill, U.S. automakers were demanded to find ways in preventing drunk people from driving cars. As of now, there are two main monitoring systems that could be used. One of these systems includes a breathalyzer, a device that will automatically disable the vehicle if the driver’s blood-alcohol level is too high. The other system is an infrared camera that would monitor the behavior of the driver while driving; if the driver shows risky behavior, the vehicle will slow down and pull the driver to the side of the road automatically.
I believe that these devices are impractical. People are too sensitive in them being told what to do, especially drunken people. These devices will be unpopular & inconvenient because they will be seen as the government attempting to control people in as many ways as possible. If these monitoring systems are underdeveloped, they may not be reliable causing other issues. These systems have the potential of being canceled as seen by the seatbelt system in the 1970s. This seatbelt system was so unpopular Congress had to eliminate it, and why wouldn’t this also happen to the upcoming monitoring systems? At the end of the day, people who drink are grown, people. These grown people must drink responsibly & they must know by now the consequences of drunk driving. If you feel that you will be consuming large quantities of alcohol, drink at home, and hide your key. Why even get drunk in the first place? If you having issues don’t try to mask them, confront and resolve those issues.
Should cars be required to have anti-drunk driving monitoring devices?
