Advocates urge Ottawa to make anti-impaired driving technology mandatory

The non-profit organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is ramping up its pressure on the federal government to make anti-impaired driving technology mandatory in all new cars.

Tanya Hansen Pratt, MADD’s national president, says that kind of technology can help save the lives of drivers and others alike.

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She says that new technology for vehicle safety had to prove itself in past but eventually was accepted by the majority.

“If you think back to when seat belts came in, there were, of course, some people who were against it, but the majority of people were pretty happy to say, ‘yeah, let’s protect ourselves.’”

To reach that level of acceptance within society, Pratt adds that it is important that the technology is not intrusive.

“There are technologies available out there where you can actually check the driver’s blood alcohol concentration either through touch or through their breath, and it’s done completely passively.”

MADD’s push is in response to a law passed by the United States requiring new passenger vehicles to be equipped with the technology.

“This came from the passing of the HALT Act in the United States,” Pratt said in an interview with 1130 NewsRadio.

“This passed in 2021, requiring all new vehicles in the United States to have anti-impaired driving technology installed in new vehicles originally by 2026, but that’s been extended to 2030. All we are asking for is the safety of Canadians on our roads.”

Despite MADD’s hope that the law would be implemented this year, Pratt says that the important part is that manufacturers and politicians are on the same side on this issue and get it right.

U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is expected to implement the law next year, giving car makers three years to install the technology in their vehicles.

“We have cameras and mirrors that can track a driver’s eye movements to see if they’re looking at the road. A lot of people in newer vehicles have heard that warning that says Hey, look up, keep your eyes on the road’. Or we have braking assist or anti-collision technologies,” Pratt explained.

“We can take advantage of that because we know that impaired drivers have difficulty with either speed or staying in their lane or remaining alert.”

The HALT Act, abbreviated for Honouring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate Drunk Driving Act, was part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and signed into law by President Biden.

The law was contested by a Republican member of the House of Representatives in January this year, but the repeal was voted down in a bipartisan vote of 164 to 268.

– With files from Dean Recksiedler.