I'd think that just electrifying the nation's vehicle fleet would ensure that they wouldn't be going anywhere

NTSB says all vehicles need alcohol detectors and the law will soon require them

NHTSA is already working on the topic as the infrastructure bill signed into law by President Biden in 2021 included a requirement for all vehicles to be equipped with passive alcohol interlocks, which would make them inoperable if a high blood alcohol level is detected. The law dictates that regulations be developed within three years and gives automakers two years to comply, but allows the Department of Transportation to extend the periods, if technically necessary.

Unlike the systems currently mandated by states for drivers convicted of DUI offenses, which require them to breathe into a tube before starting their vehicles. NHTSA and 17 automakers have been developing and testing a passive breath test and a touch system that uses infrared light to measure the blood alcohol level through the skin as part of the DADSS (Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety) program.

I’m totally on board with whacking drunk drivers even harder than they are today; Mothers Against Drunk Driving was probably the best thing to happen to road safety since shoulder belts, and it’s the only one of that kind of pressure group that I have absolutely no argument with.’

if it were only the drunk himself who died in a crash that he caused well, too bad, but big deal. However, the drunks usually manage to mangle innocents, people just going about their business while the drunk veers towards them. Worse, the drunk often walks away from the wreck while a family lies dying. Life imprisonment without parole? That’s okay with me.

But — BUT! — unless our technological masters having been hiding their prowess in chip technology and anti-hacking developments, this is going to be one hell of a mess. I intend that the next car I buy will be my last one, powered by gasoline, and with not a breathalyzer onboard (and I don’t drink, but no matter, I don’t trust the technology to discern that.)