Legislative Advocacy
Please email your local NYS legislator and our NYS Governor and tell them - One life lost to drunk and impaired driving is too many. Now is the time to act so we never have to experience another tragedy. The numbers in NYS are staggering with a 52% increase in fatalities due to a drunk driver since 2019. We must do better.
Please support the following legislation so we can protect our families and communities.
[Don’t live in NY: Contact your local legislator and tell them one life lost to drunk driving is too many. Nationwide, 13,384 people were killed by drunk driving in 2021. This represents the largest number since 2006.]
Learn More About Our Legislative Advocacy
President Biden signing the Infrastructure Bill into law in November 2021 - this bill includes a section that mandates new safety standards to prevent impaired driving.
Advanced Impaired Driving Technology signed into Federal Law!
The $1 trillion Infrastructure bill passed by Congress and signed by President Biden in November 2021 includes a section entitled “Advanced Impaired Driving Technology,” which calls on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to set new safety standards that advocates say will prevent drunk, impaired and distracted driving.
AMF worked with MADD to lobby legislators to pass this bill.
The legislation will require vehicles manufactured after a certain date to come equipped with technology that could include driving performance monitoring systems like lane departure warning and attention assist, a camera or sensor system to monitor the driver’s head and eyes or alcohol detection systems that would determine whether a driver is drunk and then prevent the car from moving. Once the safety standards are set, automakers will be given a three-year window to implement the technology, meaning vehicles made after 2026 will have the monitoring systems.
“We need technology to stop the nightmare on our roads,” said Alex Otte, MADD national president. “Existing technologies and those in development will stop the hazardous driving behavior of people who refuse to make the right choice themselves.”
Ms. Otte and other advocates are hailing the bill’s passage as the biggest legislative victory in the group’s 41-year history.
Ms. Otte also said it could virtually eliminate drunk driving.
Learn More About Alcohol Detection Technology
This technology is a game changer, and it’s already available in many vehicles. Volvo is putting distraction detection technology in many of its new vehicles, and alcohol detection technology has proven to be extremely effective in ignition interlock devices for convicted drunk drivers. Learn more about advanced detection technology here.