Wyoming’s lone U.S. House representative, Rep. Harriet Hageman, joined a failed attempt to defund a federal law requiring all passenger cars sold after 2026 to have an “impaired driving prevention technology” system, commonly referred to as a “kill switch.”
The proposed amendment, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, sought to challenge Section 24220 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The amendment, which garnered 199 Republican and two Democratic votes in favor, ultimately fell short in a 229-201 vote on Tuesday evening, with 19 Republicans and 210 Democrats opposing it.
Section 24220 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act stipulates that, by 2026, all new passenger vehicles must be equipped with systems to monitor drivers passively, detect impairment, and limit operation if necessary. Alternatively, the technology can focus on detecting a driver’s blood-alcohol concentration and shutting down the vehicle if it exceeds the legal limit.
The debate on the House floor centered on the balance between constitutional privacy rights and addressing concerns about drunk driving. Rep. Massie argued that the federal government installing a kill switch in vehicles seemed like “dystopian science fiction” and questioned the potential invasion of privacy through surveillance technologies.
New Mexico’s U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján chimed in on the “kill switch” initiative, bashing Massey on X, formerly Twitter.
“This technology doesn’t track your vehicle’s location or randomly switch off cars. It prevents people from driving drunk and saves countless lives,” claimed the New Mexico Democrat.
Massey shot back at Lujan’s post, writing, “#1 It will not act randomly.
It will trigger falsely more often than not, dangerously stranding people in cars.”
He added, “#2 This tech will need to track where the car is to know [the] speed limit, appropriate driving behavior for the location, and where the car is disabled.”
Lujan is a fervent supporter of government-tracked and “kill-switched” cars, which create the opportunity for the government to shut down one’s car. For now, Democrats claim it is only for the prevention of drunk driving, but what about another pandemic where a travel ban is enacted? This rule could be a slippery slope to even more government control of Americans’ lives.
LOL Ben Ray must not drive… Wonder how often his car would not start after leaving Sancha’s house?
Ride a horse Ben!
Yee Haw, Ben!!!
What one smart guy can do, another smart guy can undo. There will be a large aftermarket in disabling these devices.
You are not kidding about that.
I’ll just restore my ’78 classic!
The simple response is don’t buy any vehicle with this installed. Vote with your wallet.
Exactly..This is BIG BROTHER….
The inmates are truly running the asylum. NM has elected five “inmates” to represent us. What a disgrace!
Mike, you’re 💯 % correct in that the mental midget communists that have been (s) elected to “represent “NM never even think of their constituents. Will these devices raise the price of vehicles? You bet, will it pick up fentanyl , crack cocaine or meth , which are the impairment of choice in Lujans district and NM? Cops don’t worry about those now! Most people who have a beer after work don’t slide into a family of six but fentanyl, crack and meth users prowl the state, murdering, stealing and assaulting but don’t worry, we’ll focus on a segment of the population that has a beer after work. By the way the above named drug users don’t work, they prey on the public to support their addiction.
Simple minded twit!
We all know it’s not about driving while impaired. It’s more to do with their 15 minute cities and control. They already are able to control new cars that have computer chips, so it’s just about making it consensual. If this passes and you purchase a car knowing it has this capability, you are consenting to government control of your vehicle.
Mr Ben…quit taking us for fools!
The cost to install?
On the consumer.
How much will it add to the sticker price?
About $3,500.00 more or less. More union fees, taxes, labor, parts, modification of the auto line…yada yada yada…
When will it start?
2026…It passed.
Just like air bags, side impact panels, studies of auto crashes, replacing plastic parts for metal, seatbelts, cruise control, anti lock power brakes, power steering, power windows, and computer run vehicles, fuel injection rails, fuel injectors, HEMI electronic ignitions, Catalytic converters to burn the smog into oblivion, automatic transmissions too.
Everything added on to the basic price of the vehicle was passed on to? … yep the consumer.
Some were good, some are forced upon the consumer…by our GOOBERMENT…by OVERREGULATION of the auto industry.
Why?
Because if it saved just one life bull**t logic…and The GOOBERMENT got their fingers into the auto industry bailing their as*** out forcing them to comply or go bankrupt.
Now welcome to stage two… You pump regular leaded gas into your car anymore?
Nope.
Why?
Because the GOOBERMENT regulated lead out of gasoline.
What happened?
The cost of gas went up and the basic cost of the price of the auto went up to better handle unleaded gasoline.
Resulting in…? The consumer got anal*d in the wallet again.
Why? Because it might save one life bulls** logic …again.
People steal them… the gas nozzle wont fit…and the GOOBERMENT stepped in again and threatened anyone removing the pollution control devices could face fines and 10 year jail sentences.
How’d that work out?
How many of your friends and neighbors went to prison for 10 years for messing with the converter and the gas nozzles?
Better yet… did removing the pollution control devices save them money from the original cost of the vehicle?…ehhh… I can answer that one…
Nope.
I learned to drive on a standard transmission , 3 on the tree, 6 cylinder, points, rotor, condenser, spark plugs and distributor that got 35 mpg downhill in neutral, (yeah that was made illegal in like 1970 too) 15 mph on the flat @ 65mph, 2 ton, all metal, 4 door Chevy, with an AM radio only, manual brakes and steering.
..and when I say manual steering, I mean you better warm up your upper arm strength to turn that thing and the radius was like…1/4 mile to make that left turn.
The tires were not steel belted either. You hit a rut in the road, that wheel would jerk your a** to the left or right so hard you had to grab and hold onto the wheel for dear life or die in a ditch… or a telephone pole…
That car FORCED you to pay attention to drive it.
…and if you hit something, like a cow…you’d splattered that thing for 300 feet if you were doing 60mph….and it took you another 1,500 feet to come to a complete stop with those power brakes cause when you wanted to stop, you had to stand on that brake pedal with all your body weight, both feet, and pull on the wheel at the same time to add weight to stop that beast… but at least…all you had to do was wipe the blood off the front bumper and it looked like nothing ever happened.
We hooked up a container to the carb and injected a mixture of rubbing alcohol and Hydrogen Peroxide and were getting 50 mpg on the flat…but had to add in some marvel mystery oil into the gas tank cause the mix burned hot and the values started clicking…
And that was 1974-75.
Not all advancements have been bad…power anti lock brakes and steering come to mind…power windows are kinda cool too.
I still drive a stick because none of these ignorant Gen X or millennia kids today that are into stealing others property couldn’t drive it. I need to add in bullet proof glass though so when they get pi**ed off not able to figure out “the kill switch” and how to drive it… they bust a window out getting frustrated.
Why’d we get here?
Because the GOOBERMENT is elected by…the consumers…and the consumers for the past 3 generations have been bred into fear and fear mongering… saving just one life is the mantra. and the elected keep pushing fear as it has worked pretty dang good for the past 40 years.
What would you expect from democrat Luján. They all lie and want to control our lives including our thoughts. They are the evil party of baby killers
I agree! Democrats are the true domestic terrorists in our country.
Lujan and his comrades are for total control I won’t be buying a car with that technology in it. How these things get slipped into a bill and not ones realizes it and just votes on it is beyond my comprehension. We know that the corruption goes deep and the newly elected representatives and senators need to be on top of these shady deals.
NM wake up and stop electing these self serving individuals. They are not just killing NM but working on taking down America.
Remember, before he was elected senator, he was under the tutelage of Nancy “you got a past the bill to find out what’s in it” Pelosi.
Remember, before he was elected senator, he was under the tutelage of Nancy “you got a pass the bill to find out what’s in it” Pelosi.
It’s all about control folks, it’s ALL ABOUT CONTROL! Does it judge impairment by pot, drugs,…? If it stops a vehicle correctly or incorrectly and that causes an accident, who is liable. Next it’ll be, you’ve driven too many miles for your allotment, shut it down. Or, you can’t make that turn, it’s the wrong direction for you. Sorry folks, this is just another demo, communist idea.
Another typical Loserjan idea! Control of the peasants and “do as I say -not as I do”.. It’s beyond time to remove and disable the Loserjans from Gov’t!
I agree with Babs Lujan is a crook and a baby killer like the Governor of NM
Lujan did not legally win his election, they cheated, that data proves it. Lujan should be removed from office. He is a Marxist and does not support New Mexicans. Control, control, control, that is all the Marxist want. If you do not comply with there will you will loose rights, wether it is getting a loan, getting gas for your car outside your area, being able to drive your car. It will go on and on, look what the CCP do to their people, NM will be the test bed.
Commies censored me again, must be hitting nerves!!
“I’m here from the government to help You.”
Way better idea – local politicians with “kill” switches.
If a breathalyzer of any kind would have prevented the accident that took the life (killed) of ur child would u still feel that u know best? For a few dollars. Karen, Babs, climb unto my train of thought for one full minute only. Enjoy the ride.
The only way to get rid of this is to vote them out. There are more now than ever before, we can do it!
Teach people how to drive not cars.
I have lost a dear relative to a drunk driver. They sound credible, “oh it could stop a drunk driver”. They did not stop the drunk who killed my relative, they put him back on the streets in a year and a half! They don’t care about stopping drunks, they want to rack up stats. They want to look like they are worth their salary.
NEVER!! It is another way to control us, so they can do whatever they want. Why don’t the politicians do their actual jobs instead of this BS.? So many things that would actually help New Mexicans!
Vehicle tracking of citizens, you mean like On-Star or LoJack. Maybe just plain old GPS thru our phones, iPads, tablets, etc. We always know where you are. Just not who you are.