DRIVE to HALT Drunk Driving Act

Key Points

• Large automakers (those selling more than 250,000 vehicles per year in the U.S.) would be required to produce at least 10,000 cars per year equipped with the DADSS drunk-driving prevention sensor system and another 10,000 meeting European safety assessment standards — totaling 20,000 vehicles annually with impairment-detection technology.
• Only the biggest car manufacturers are covered — those that made or imported more than 250,000 vehicles in the second most recent calendar year. Smaller automakers would be exempt from the requirement.
• Companies would have just 180 days (about six months) after the bill becomes law to start meeting these requirements. Those that fail to comply could face civil penalties under existing motor vehicle safety enforcement provisions.
• The bill is designed as a temporary bridge measure. Its requirements automatically expire once the federal government issues a permanent nationwide rule on drunk driving prevention technology, as directed by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• If the European safety standard referenced in the bill is updated, the new version automatically replaces the old one — unless the Secretary of Transportation determines the updated standard doesn't meet motor vehicle safety needs after a public comment period.