"passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired; and prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if an impairment is detected"
There is an OR for detecting high blood alcohol level.
There are a few years to get input, come up with preliminary rules, get more input, finalize the rules and give time for manufacturers to implement them.
This could save 10,000 lives per year and tens of billions of dollars per year.
The law says "prevent or limit operation". That is pretty broad.
If it is a breathalyzer, or a speed limiter when you are swerving over a 2 minute period, I am fine with that.
If it shuts you down for going over the speed limit for 10 seconds, or make an emergency maneuver, then I am not so happy. But that is why we have a representative form of government, and input on regulations.
If they actually do this, I'm predicting a run on old pre-controlled cars and trucks, and a thriving black market in circumvention technologies!
Unless, you know, your representative doesn't listen to you. Or you've had a felony. Or you are 17. Or you live overseas. Or you are an immigrant (Some places allow immigrants to vote in local elections).
*Or, increasingly, they did not let you visit, but your co-ethnics in border states are impeding immigration enforcement so that you can stay regardless.
The second part of this is straightforward but can be disabled by the car's owner. The first part may well be completely impossible.
We can't even instruct humans in how to definitively determine impairment except in limited circumstances, and even then it's only a diagnostic test that has to be confirmed by an invasive medical test.
I don't like this law at all or how it made its way into the bill so quietly... but in reality this isn't going to happen in practical terms for a few decades, because it's going to take that long to develop an AI that can do this.
If you need a car, eventually these will be the only options available. Tampering with or removing these misfeatures will eventually be classified as a felony, and suspicion that you may have done so will eventually be used to justify violence against you from the police.
I drive a 20-year-old car because I can't stand the tiny windows, high hoods, giant A-pillars, and high seating positions on new cars. Modern safety regulations mean that I can't buy a new car with my preferred seating position and good forward visibility.
The bad news is, time exists. My car is 22 years old, but in 10 years it'll be 32 years old. All the other sedans with good forward visibility will be 30+ years old, too. Old cars get rusty and dry-rotted, and eventually they get scrapped.
The government doesn't need to force you into a car that takes away your privacy and agency- time will do the job for them.
At least people can sit on the side of the road and check their Facebook while waiting for the car to reset. Seems better than having them on the road doing it.
Edit: s/observe/monitor/
