VIDEO: Udall, Scott Unveil Major Bipartisan Legislation to Help Prevent Drunk Driving and Save Thousands of Lives

Statement

Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.), joined by U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), unveiled bipartisan legislation to help prevent drunk driving and save thousands of lives. The Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone Act of 2019 (RIDE Act) will promote the research and development of advanced alcohol detection technology and will require the implementation of such technology in new motor vehicles.

"The fact is that deaths from drunk driving are completely preventable -- so we have an obligation to do everything we can to prevent such senseless tragedies. I've been in this fight for a long time, and we've made real progress. But we are still losing thousands of lives each year to drunk driving crashes. Every drunk driving death is one too many -- and one family too many forced to confront unimaginable pain. With this legislation, we have the opportunity to help end drunk driving for good by putting alcohol detection technology in all new motor vehicles," said Udall. "We owe it to those we've lost--to honor them with action."

"It is heartbreaking that we have lost so many to the irresponsible actions of drunk drivers. Now is the time to act so we never have to experience another tragedy. I'm proud to join Senator Udall to introduce the RIDE Act, which promotes the development of critical alcohol detection technology that could save 7,000 lives every year. One life lost is too many, and this technology will go a long way in protecting our families and communities," said Scott.

"Drunk driving has brought pain to my community in Dearborn and the country," said Dingell. "Change needs to come faster and we need to do everything we can to ensure what happened to the Abbas family never happens again. The bills introduced in the House and Senate represent a way to do that and I'm committed to continuing to work with advocacy groups, industry, federal regulators, and those who have lost loved ones, including relatives of the Abbas family who are with us here today, so we can stop drunk driving and ensure the tragedy of the Abbas family never happens again."

In 2017, 10,847 people were killed on American roads as a result of drunk driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), that means a drunk driver killed someone every 48 minutes. Yet a drunk driver has only a two percent chance of being caught. Despite robust educational and enforcement initiatives, drunk driving still accounts for one-third of all traffic fatalities. According to MADD, New Mexico faced 118 drunk driving deaths in 2018, amounting to 29 percent of overall traffic fatalities. In Florida, there were 841 drunk driving deaths in 2017, representing 26 percent of traffic fatalities as the result of drunk driving.

The RIDE Act of 2019 will fund the technology transfer of federally funded research and development of advanced alcohol detection technology that detects whether a driver is impaired over the legal limit and, if so, prevents that driver from starting the car. The act sets up a pilot program for fleet deployment of vehicles equipped with this technology with the federal General Services Administration, state and local partners, and private fleet owners. Finally, the act requires a rulemaking to mandate installment of this technology in every new vehicle. If all vehicles were equipped with this advanced alcohol detection technology, an estimated 7,000 lives could be saved every year.

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