Carmakers may need to incorporate technology that can detect drunk driving under a new rule the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed Tuesday.

More than 13,000 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2021 — roughly a third of all traffic fatalities in the U.S.

What You Need To Know

  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may require carmakers to incorporate technologies that can detect impaired driving

  • Drunk driving crashes killed more than 13,000 people in 2021 — roughly a third of all traffic fatalities in the U.S.

  • A handful of technologies are in development that use touch- or breath-based sensors or cameras to assess impairment

  • The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law directed NHTSA to establish a safety standard that addresses impaired driving

“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,” U.S. Department of Transportation deputy secretary Polly Trottenberg said in a statement. The proposed rule “is the first step toward a new safety standard requiring alcohol-impaired-driving prevention technology in new passenger vehicles.”

The proposed rule does not set a timeline for when the safety standard would take effect, only that it could be required “when the technology is mature.” It also does not specify exactly what technology would be used.

A handful of systems are currently in development to stop people who are impaired from being able to drive a vehicle. Those include breath- and touch-based alcohol-detection sensors and cameras that can assess eye movements to indicate if a driver is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The proposed rulemaking will help NHTSA gather information about the progression of such technologies and the best way to deploy them.

The rule was required as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which directed NHTSA to establish a safety standard that will require new passenger vehicles to have advanced drunk- and impaired-driving prevention technology. The new requirement will only take effect if the agency determines it is reasonable and practicable to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities.

The agency said the country incurs $280 billion in lost wages, lost quality of life and medical costs resulting from alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, injuries and property damage.

The rule comes as NHTSA rolled out its Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over impaired-driving public awareness campaign in advance of the holidays. Alcohol-impaired traffic deaths hit an almost 15-year high in 2021; more than 1,000 people were killed by drunk drivers, the agency said.