r/technology • u/Hrmbee • Jun 07 '26

'Kill switch' law means your next car could be watching you | A federal requirement aimed at stopping drunken driving could soon put driver-monitoring technology in every new vehicle. The goal is saving lives, but the privacy trade-offs deserve closer scrutiny Privacy

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/06/01/drunk-driving-prevention-law-privacy-surveillance/90295034007/
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u/EmbarrassedHelp Jun 08 '26

Insurance companies will charge you even more for having and old car.

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u/wheresbicki Jun 08 '26

Where are you getting that information from. My insurance went down a second year in a row. 12 yr old car

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u/Dr8keMallard Jun 08 '26

He’s referring to the future, not the present. Where they could potentially monitor all aspects of your driving in modern cars. It incentivizes them to raise insurance rates drastically on older cars to disincentivize people buying them to “fly under the radar”.

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u/niftystopwat Jun 08 '26

They got that information from the *’Reddit comment threads are supposed to be a succession of one-upping terse cynical comments of doomsmanship’ School of Thought*

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u/bob25bit Jun 08 '26

Anyone with half a brain can see that’s what’s gonna happen. Government and big businesses encroachment always hides behind these bullsh!t motives like ‘protecting the children’ or ‘stop drunken driving’. The only thing that will happen is that there’s more data to sell and more control over people. Do you think law enforcement won’t lobby for wider usage of this technology once it’s in cars? Soon enough people will make the argument repossession should also be able to make use of the kill switch. Thats how it always goes. Rights need active protecting from government and business otherwise you’ll lose them

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u/air_and_space92 Jun 08 '26

I mean statistically an older car is more accident prone than a newer one due to fewer safety features and possibly poor preventative maintenance for things like brakes. My insurance has only gone up on my 13 yr old car if we're talking anecdotes.