This legislation is a Joe Biden Special, signed off after a bipartisan statute was delivered to his desk. Rep. Thomas Massie attempted to defund the mandate but his amendment was defeated in a 229 - 201 vote. 

The kicker is that the technology demanded by Congress to accurately detect whether a person is intoxicated or incapacitated doesn't exist yet. It's effectively Congress taking control of private industry and demanding that they meet a requirement with a technology that they now have to develop quickly, and I can't imagine it being accurate or even safe right out the gate. 

As Massie noted, lawmakers have put the cart before the horse. 

To be sure, the speed at which lawmakers want to control your car is disturbing, especially since they're making demands on manufacturers to make sure they can do it without waiting for technology to develop and be polished enough for mass production. 

If anything, it should make you very nervous. If you think this is about drunk drivers you're sadly mistaken. That's just how it's being sold. What this will swiftly develop into is a way to control the movement of the populace. This is a technology that can be abused with reckless abandon. Authorities and politicians will be able to stop your car from moving for many different reasons. 

For instance, if you're suspected of belonging to a group a politician in power doesn't agree with and has labeled as dangerous, they could find an excuse to shut down your vehicle in the name of public safety. They will follow the same guidelines as red flag laws for guns, requiring you to prove that you're not a danger to the public before they reactivate your vehicle. 

This could also open the door for usage limits. Politicians may attempt to push environmental policies that involve fewer cars on the road for less time, forcing your vehicle to shut down after a certain amount of miles or time in use, and pushing you to utilize public transit for the sake of the "environment." 

The possibilities for expansion and abuse of this are many, but at the core of it is the ability to monitor you while you're in your car. Your car is often considered an extension of your home, and while many state laws differ in the particulars on this, your car is your private property. What the government is doing is effectively installing a monitoring system in your car by which they can watch your performance and track your movements.

While many would say that they already have that in various capacities, and that is absolutely true, it's never been this extensive or intrusive. This isn't just about listening to you, this is about watching you and being able to control your vehicle, or more accurately, control your property. 

From this, they could regulate your speed or even lock you out of your car. You will go to work when they say. You will come home when they say. They can make demands as to where your next destination is, for instance, reporting to your nearest police precinct for questioning. They can force you to require permission for the use of your car before usage.

The possibilities are endless.

One has to stop and wonder what kind of doors this will open in the future. With your car now under the control of politicians, what step will they take next? How long before they believe it's their right to interfere in how your home functions? 

This isn't hyperbole. Authoritarians don't ever stop advancing their control, and it won't be long before they're making demands on home builders to install devices that can gain access to your home's functions in the name of "safety" or "the environment." Controlling your energy consumption, internet access, temperature, sprinkler system, and more. 

Ultimately, this is what this is the slippery slope we're sliding down, and these politicians need to be stopped now.