What Is The “Kill Switch Law?”
What some media are referring to as the “Kill Switch Law” is actually Sec.
24220 of the Act called “Advanced impaired driving technology.”
This technology already exists in some form.
For example, Volvo is placing speed limiters, long-range LIDAR, and in-car cameras in their vehicles.
This will be standard on Volvo EX90.
Image Credit:Volvo
We also know that any in-vehicle camera or biometric monitoring system will collect personal data.
Another thing we can expect, depending on the implementation of this technology, is errors and exceptions.
For example, how would the algorithm handle people with eye conditions (cross-eyed or lazy eyes)?
What if someone severely depressed drives in a way that mimics someone sleepy?
you could run these thought experiments seemingly ad infinitum.
What We Don’t Know About Sec.
The National Transportation Safety Board is pushing for exactly that.
According toAP News, research is underway that can use fingerprints to detect blood alcohol levels.
Another technology draws the driver’s breath into the steering column or driver-side door and tests it.
Perhaps the biggest thing we don’t know is how the public will react.
It’s easy to imagine that some would avoid buying a new car.
Would the government require that older vehicles be retrofitted with some form of this technology?
Public sentiment remains to be seen.
EvenApple is trying to stop drunk driversby turning their smartphones into breathalyzers.
At this point, we are unsure of more than we know.
Installing impaired driving presentation technology poses a plethora of social, legal, and logistical challenges.
Large-scale social changes are possible.
In a few decades, self-driving cars might let us nap during commutes.
