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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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Republicans across the U.S., including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, spoke of their dismay Friday at a failed attempt to stop vehicle kill switch mandates.
GOP Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky had introduced an amendment to the spending bill making its way through Congress, attempting to overturn a Biden-era mandate on the kill switches designed to intervene if it was detected that a driver was impaired.
“The idea that the federal government would require auto manufacturers to equip cars with a ‘kill switch’ that can be controlled by the government is something you’d expect in Orwell’s 1984, and yet,” DeSantis wrote on X on Friday after Massie’s attempt failed in the House.
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Why It Matters
Introducing or even mandating kill switch technology has been divisive, with critics seeing it as government overreach and those in favor seeing it as potentially lifesaving. Debate has also focused on different perspectives of what the technology can and cannot do, such as tracking a person’s driving and location.
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What To Know
Ahead of the vote, Massie posted to X: “Federal law says new cars after 2026 must monitor drivers and shut down if the car disapproves. Your dashboard should not be judge, jury, and executioner.”
On Thursday, 160 Republicans voted in favor of his amendment, but the legislation failed 268-164, according to the House Clerk's official roll call—with 57 Republicans joining 211 Democrats in voting against it.
None of the 57 GOP members who voted against the amendment had openly commented on their decision as of Friday afternoon.
Currently, there is no mandate to have kill switches in cars, but legislation passed in 2021 required the Department of Transportation to create one.
Massie wanted to block funding set aside for enabling or creating such rules, making the current discussions around federal government funding the time to address the topic.
What Is Vehicle Kill Switch?
Kill switches are a way for cars to detect potential impaired driving, such as from drinking or substances, and to then either refuse to start the engine or stop it while driving.
In creating the 2026 deadline for implementing the mandate, the legislation in 2021 did not fully spell out how the technology would work, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has carried out surveys and research into the best way forward.
Possible ways to implement kill switches include using cameras monitoring eye movements, driving sensors and blood alcohol detectors, which would be used to stop a car from functioning if impairment was detected.
Critics say these technologies could infringe on drivers’ privacy and have questioned where the data would be stored. There are also concerns about malfunctioning technology that could leave able drivers stranded.
Those who have advocated for kill switches, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), say they could be a lifesaving tool. MADD has said it does not approve of driver data being compromised and that every technological issue has a workable solution.
What People Are Saying
Former Georgia GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, on X: “Example number 5,989,236 as to why things will never ever change. President Trump endorses nearly all of these Republicans and Fox News will continue to interview them and the donor class and lobbyists will continue to donate to them. And they will never leave.”
**Texas GOP Representative Keith Self, on X: “**Unbelievably disturbing. 57 House Republicans just joined almost all the Democrats to ensure the government can shut off your car whenever it wants.”
Texas GOP Representative Chip Roy, on X: “Makes cars more expensive & puts the government in your car. Insane to vote against ending the kill switch mandate.”
Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan, who voted against the amendment, per a news release from Mothers Against Drunk Driving: "Rep. Massie's statements that impaired driving technology would track driver location, monitor driver performance, or enable cars to shut themselves down in the middle of the road are blatantly false and an intentional mischaracterization of the law. Massie's amendment is an insult to every American who has been hurt by or lost loved ones to drunk driving. ... We have the technology now to save lives and we should not delay in implementing it."
MAAD, in a press release Thursday: “Claims that anti-drunk driving technology will unfairly burden consumers or compromise individual privacy are misplaced. The reality is that the concerns being raised have practical, proven solutions, and none outweigh the cost of inaction, which can be measured in lives lost and economic costs to society.”
What Happens Next
The Biden-era plan for a mandate remains in place, but those opposing the move say they are not done fighting.
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