TL;DR: The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requires all new cars sold after September 2027 to include technology that monitors whether you're impaired or distracted—and can prevent you from driving. Infrared cameras will track your eyes, breath sensors will measure alcohol, and your car can refuse to start or limit its speed. Privacy advocates warn this biometric data could be shared with insurance companies, law enforcement, or sold to data brokers.

What's coming to your car
Tucked into the 2,702-page Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Biden signed in November 2021 was a provision that few Americans noticed. Section 24220 requires NHTSA to issue safety standards mandating "advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology" in all new passenger vehicles.

The law gave NHTSA until November 15, 2024 to finalize rules. Enforcement begins no later than September 2027. That deadline is now 18 months away.