Remarks from CEO Mary Barra follow the NHTSA announcing its first step towards mandating anti-DUI systems in cars and trucks
Drivers who can’t resist having “one more for the road” might soon find themselves unable to get to the road, and instead, stuck in the parking lot. GM boss Mary Barra has confirmed that the automaker has been developing technology that will prevent drivers who’ve had too much to drink from operating their own cars.
“We’ve been working with regulators on that,” Barra told attendees at an Economic Club event in Washington, D.C., referring to the alcohol detection systems. “We have technology to do that,” she reiterated while talking to the club’s chairman, David Rubenstein, Auto News reports. “I think that’s technology that’s coming that I think is going to be good for everyone.”
More: Feds Make First Move Towards Mandating Anti-Drunk Driving Devices In All New Cars
advertisement scroll to continue
The news isn’t totally unexpected, coming a day after the NHTSA made its first move towards demanding anti-impairment technology in new vehicles. The NHTSA hasn’t been working on this program in a vaccum and it’s only natural that automakers will have been busy to make sure they’re prepared for any future regulations. But it’s still big news to hear someone like GM confirm that the tech is coming, even if it could be several years before production cars are equipped with devices that won’t let us drive them when over the limit.
Ridding the roads of drunk drivers is something we should all want to see happen. The NHTSA says that almost 13,400 people died in alcohol-related accidents in 2021 – up 14 percent from 2020 – which cost both lives and money: the administration puts the figure at $280 billion of things like medical expenses and lost wages. But you can imagine that a few drivers, perhaps in more rural communities, won’t be ecstatic about the news, and neither will those who see the tech as another curb on freedom. Where do you stand?