If the US government gets its way, it will require car manufacturers to install kill switches in all new vehicles (cars, trucks, and SUVs) from 2026. The kill switch will have a backdoor that can be accessed by law enforcement.
See the text of the bill S. 1331 here.
But, as House Representative Bob Barr noted in an article last year, legislation can change unexpectedly to work against law-abiding citizens.
The kill switch would not only remotely shut down a vehicle but the technology will also “passively monitor the performance of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired.”
The bill, which was tucked away into an early draft of the infrastructure bill that was proposed last year, would have given law enforcement the opportunity to monitor how people drive and shut off their car if they do something that has been deemed driver impairment.
Perhaps the worst part about the kill switch is that it would have a backdoor, allowing the police and other law enforcement agencies access. The speculation is that a warrant would not be needed to access the kill switch. The other problem with backdoors is that they are accessible to hackers.
Barr points out that the law is a violation of privacy. Additionally, the law does not define “impaired driving,” leaving it open to the interpretation of government agencies.
