Punching Upwards 43: The Vehicle Kill Switch Law
Dissecting Biden’s 2021 law that will require cars in the US to monitor drivers and to turn themselves off if the AI thinks the driver is impaired. Is it coming in 2027? Is it even feasible at all?
Credits
Thanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Vlad A Gouf, Fadi Mansour, Bennet Piater, Eric, Sir Galteran and joeydd for supporting this podcast financially and therefore making it possible for me to produce it!
The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules!
See Also
Sources
- WTF Is The “Automobile Kill Switch” Congress Is Pushing, The Young Turks, 3 May 2026
- Greg Gutfeld: Obama’s “Cash for Clunkers” destroyed affordable cars], Fox News, 30 June 2026
- H.R. 3684 / Public Law 117-58: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Statute at Large 135), 117th Congress (2021-2022)
- 49 U.S. Code § 30111 – Standards, Cornell Law School
- Mandatory Cameras in New Cars by 2027: What the Law Actually Says, West Coast Shipping, 1 May 2026
- Report to Congress: Advanced Impaired Driving Prevention Technology, NHTSA, February 2026
- Federal Regulators Tell Congress Advanced Impaired Driving Detection Technology Isn't Ready Yet, Road & Track, 17 March 2026
- NHTSA Finalizes Key Safety Rule to Reduce Crashes and Save Lives, U.S. Department of Transportation, 29 April 2024
- H.R. 1137: No Kill Switch in Cars Act, 119th Congress (2025-2026)
- John James co-sponsors legislation to kill the vehicle “kill switch” mandate, Congressman John James (press release), 28 April 2026
- "Kill Switch" for Cars Approved by House Republicans, Newsweek, 23 January 2026
- H.R. 7148 / Public Law 119-75: Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026 (Statute at Large 140), 119th Congress (2025-2026)
- David Marcus: Why I'll take my clunker over any new car with a government kill switch, Fox News, 29 April 2026
- “Kill switch” law means your next car could be watching you, USA Today, 1 June 2026
- New Federal Rule Could Turn Every 2027 Car Into a Driver Surveillance System – What This Means for Drivers, Yahoo Autos, 21 May 2026
- Federal Surveillance Tech Becomes Mandatory in New Cars by 2027, Yahoo News, 9 March 2026
H.R. 3684 / Public Law 117-58, 117th Congress (2021-2022) – Statute at Large 135, pp. 831:
SEC. 24220. ADVANCED IMPAIRED DRIVING TECHNOLOGY.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) alcohol-impaired driving fatalities represent approximately 1⁄3 of all
highway fatalities in the United States each year;
(2) in 2019, there were 10,142 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in the
United States involving drivers with a blood alcohol concentration level
of .08 or higher, and 68 percent of the crashes that resulted in those
fatalities involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration level of
.15 or higher;
(3) the estimated economic cost for alcohol-impaired driving in 2010 was
$44,000,000,000;
(4) according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, advanced drunk
and impaired driving prevention technology can prevent more than 9,400
alcohol-impaired driving fatalities annually; and
(5) to ensure the prevention of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, advanced
drunk and impaired driving prevention technology must be standard equipment
in all new passenger motor vehicles.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) ADVANCED DRUNK AND IMPAIRED DRIVING PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY.—The term
“advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology” means a system
that—
(A) can—
(i) passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle
to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired; and
(ii) prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if an impairment is
detected;
(B) can—
(i) passively and accurately detect whether the blood alcohol
concentration of a driver of a motor vehicle is equal to or
greater than the blood alcohol concentration described in
section 163(a) of title 23, United States Code; and
(ii) prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if a blood alcohol
concentration above the legal limit is detected; or
(C) is a combination of systems described in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(2) NEW.—The term “new”, with respect to a passenger motor vehicle, means
that the passenger motor vehicle—
(A) is a new vehicle (as defined in section 37.3 of title 49, Code of
Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)); and
(B) has not been purchased for purposes other than resale.
(3) PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term “passenger motor vehicle” has the
meaning given the term in section 32101 of title 49, United States Code.
(4) SECRETARY.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Transportation,
acting through the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
(c) ADVANCED DRUNK AND IMPAIRED DRIVING PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY SAFETY STANDARD.
—Subject to subsection (e) and not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a final rule prescribing
a Federal motor vehicle safety standard under section 30111 of title 49,
United States Code, that requires passenger motor vehicles manufactured
after the effective date of that standard to be equipped with advanced
drunk and impaired driving prevention technology.
(d) REQUIREMENT.—To allow sufficient time for manufacturer compliance, the
compliance date of the rule issued under subsection (c) shall be not earlier
than 2 years and not more than 3 years after the date on which that rule
is issued.
(e) TIMING.—If the Secretary determines that the Federal motor vehicle safety
standard required under subsection (c) cannot meet the requirements and
considerations described in subsections (a) and (b) of section 30111 of
title 49, United States Code, by the applicable date, the Secretary—
(1) may extend the time period to such date as the Secretary determines to be
necessary, but not later than the date that is 3 years after the date
described in subsection (c);
(2) shall, not later than the date described in subsection (c) and not less
frequently than annually thereafter until the date on which the rule under
that subsection is issued, submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce
of the House of Representatives a report describing, as of the date of
submission of the report—
(A) the reasons for not prescribing a Federal motor vehicle safety
standard under section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, that
requires advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology in
all new passenger motor vehicles;
(B) the deployment of advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention
technology in vehicles;
(C) any information relating to the ability of vehicle manufacturers to
include advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology in
new passenger motor vehicles; and
(D) an anticipated timeline for prescribing the Federal motor vehicle
safety standard described in subsection (c); and
(3) if the Federal motor vehicle safety standard required by subsection (c)
has not been finalized by the date that is 10 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, shall submit to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representative a report
describing—
(A) the reasons why the Federal motor vehicle safety standard has not
been finalized;
(B) the barriers to finalizing the Federal motor vehicle safety standard;
and
(C) recommendations to Congress to facilitate the Federal motor vehicle
safety standard.
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