A Car With a Built In Breathalyzer?
Some of the safety features in cars today would have seemed futuristic ten years ago. When you had to postpone your driving test because you could not park straight in a parking space to the satisfaction of your driver’s ed teacher, you would not have guessed that, in 2026, cars would display yellow and red marks on your infotainment screen if you got too close to nearby vehicles or, in the most expensive vehicle models, that the car would even park itself if you asked it to. The car safety features that do the most to prevent accidents and accident-related injuries and fatalities are far less glamorous. The humble seatbelt has prevented more motor vehicle-related deaths than any other safety feature, but we rarely think about this; seatbelts have been a standard feature in cars since most drivers on the road today have been driving. Seatbelts prevent occupants from being ejected from the car in the event of a collision, thus greatly increasing their chances of survival. Being sober when you drive also greatly increases the chances that you will reach your destination alive. Technology exists that enables cars to check whether the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) is within legal limits before the car will comply with the driver’s efforts to drive it. If you got injured in a car accident that could have been prevented if the driver had taken a breathalyzer test before driving, contact a South Jersey auto accident lawyer.
The Complicated Legal History of “Ignition Interlock Devices for All”
Ignition interlock devices are a sensor attached to the car’s ignition; they prevent the car from turning on until the sensor receives a breath sample showing that the driver’s BAC is below the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Many states, including New Jersey, require drivers to attach an ignition interlock device to their cars, at the driver’s own expense, when the driver gets a DUI. These ignition interlock devices have a tube attached to a sensor that determines whether the driver is sober enough; before starting the car, the driver blows into the tube, effectively taking a breathalyzer trip before every trip.
It is possible to install the sensors in the driver’s seat area, so that the car has a built-in ignition interlock device. The infrastructure bill of 2021 contained a provision that would make these sensors a standard safety feature of cars, just like seatbelts or airbags. This required several other legal steps before the rule could go into effect for vehicles manufactured in 2026, but in the intervening four years, the rule was voted down, so most cars on the road today do not have built-in breathalyzer technology. Alcohol remains a factor in about a quarter of fatal traffic accidents.
Contact Monaco Law About Car Accidents
Contact Monaco Law PC in Marlton, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to discuss your car accident case. Joseph Monaco is a New Jersey and Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer serving Atlantic County, Bucks County, Burlington County, Cape May County, Camden County, Chester County, Cumberland County, Delaware County, Gloucester County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Philadelphia, Ocean County, Salem County, Susquehanna County and all of New Jersey.
Source:
njspotlightnews.org/2026/01/nj-reps-vote-to-block-vehicle-kill-switch-rule/
