Sponsors (3)
The bill invests federal funds to accelerate passive anti‑drunk‑driving technology, better enforcement targeting, and improved crash forensics to reduce fatalities, but does so by diverting Highway Trust Fund dollars and creating risks of higher consumer costs, privacy concerns, uneven deployment, and enforcement/administrative burdens.
Drivers, passengers, families, and transportation workers would likely face fewer alcohol-impaired crashes, injuries, and deaths because the bill funds prize-driven passive in‑vehicle anti‑drunk‑driving technology, plus targeted enforcement, hotspot modeling, and improved crash forensics.
Innovators (companies, universities, individuals) and the private sector gain a strong incentive and federal timeline to accelerate development of consumer-ready safety systems through a prize competition, potentially speeding market-ready solutions.
State and local governments and law enforcement will get a federally coordinated Center and centralized technical assistance, improving coordination, training, model demonstrations, and use of existing highway safety grants.
Taxpayers and state/local governments would see a diversion of Highway Trust Fund dollars (prize funds plus recurring center and grants funding), reducing money available for other highway, transit, or infrastructure projects.
Vehicle buyers, fleet owners, and families could incur higher upfront or retrofit costs and possible ongoing subscription or proprietary fees if winning solutions are costly or vendor‑locked, shifting expenses to consumers and small operators.
Expanded enforcement and federally coordinated traffic‑safety initiatives risk federal overreach and could lead to disproportionate traffic stops or enforcement impacts on racial/ethnic minorities and low‑income communities unless safeguards are adopted.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates a $45M+ prize for passive in-vehicle anti-drunk-driving tech, a DOT Enforcement Center, and funds a national drug-involved crash data system with state grants.
Introduced December 15, 2025 by Laura Gillen · Last progress December 15, 2025
Creates a federal prize program to speed development and deployment of passive, in-vehicle technologies that prevent drunk driving; sets aside at least $45 million for the competition and authorizes $50 million to run it. Requires DOT to stand up a new Traffic Safety Enforcement Center of Excellence to help state and local enforcement improve traffic-safety practices and to support demonstrations and training. Directs NHTSA to build a national drug-involved crash data system, fund state labs and data linkage, and run multi-state pilot sites to collect standardized toxicology information for fatal and serious-injury crashes, with specific deadlines for protocols and pilot operations and annual grant funding through FY2031.