This week, the Associated Press examined a question families impacted by drunk driving have been asking for years. If Congress passed a bipartisan law to stop drunk driving, why has it not been implemented yet?
Read the Associated Press story
What is the HALT Drunk Driving Act?
Passed in 2021, the Honoring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate the HALT Drunk Driving Act directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish a federal vehicle safety standard requiring new vehicles to include technology that prevents drunk driving.
The law sets a safety goal rather than prescribing a specific technology and is designed to save lives while protecting privacy, personal freedom, and consumer safety.
It does not authorize remote shutdowns, government control of vehicles, or the collection or sharing of personal driver data.
As the AP story explains, the law is on the books, and the technology has been tested for years. Yet, the law has not been implemented.
What Has Not Happened
While the law requires NHTSA to issue a federal safety standard, years later there is still no final rule and no clear deployment timeline.
Automakers say they are waiting to see what the government will require. Regulators cite process and complexity. The result is a standstill. The cost of that delay is measured in 34 lives each day.
What We Heard in Washington
This gap was underscored at a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing titled Hit the Road, Mac: The Future of Self-Driving Cars.
The hearing focused on the need for a national safety framework governing autonomous vehicles.
A key point applies directly to drunk driving prevention. About 94% of traffic crashes are attributed to human error. Fully autonomous vehicles never drive drunk, and the same advances that support automation can help detect when a human driver is not capable of driving safely.
The takeaway was clear, safety technology that can prevent drunk driving already exists. Federal standards matter. And national leadership is essential to saving lives.
This Is About Action Now
HALT does not give the government control of vehicles. It works like other proven safety advances, such as seat belts and airbags, by directing USDOT to set a clear safety standard that guides experts and manufacturers on how to meet it responsibly.
Congress has repeatedly reaffirmed its support for the law. HALT remains the law. What is missing is implementation. We urge the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to convene all stakeholders to find pathways forward.
What You Can Do Right Now
Saving lives at scale requires public accountability and all our effort. Here’s what you can do:
- Contact your members of Congress and urge them to support full and timely implementation of the HALT Drunk Driving Act. Ask them to demand a clear timeline and implementation benchmarks.
- Amplify this message online. Follow MADD on social media. Like, comment on, and share our posts about HALT. Tag your elected officials and urge them to support the law’s implementation.
- Use the hashtag #HALTDrunkDriving so lawmakers, regulators, and industry leaders know people across the country are paying attention.
HALT and preventing drunk driving is not about left or right. It is about moving forward.
The law is passed. The technology exists. It is time to create the standard and save lives.
For more information, visit https://madd.org/HALT/
