Drunk Driving Prevention and Enforcement Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- H.R. 6704
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Transportation and Public Works
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-02-02: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
- Last Updated
- 2026-02-03T09:05:39Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The Drunk Driving Prevention and Enforcement Act of 2025 aims to reduce alcohol-impaired and drug-impaired driving by accelerating the development and integration of advanced vehicle technologies, improving enforcement strategies, and enhancing data collection on drug-related crashes. It builds on prior laws to prevent preventable deaths and injuries from impaired driving, which Congress notes causes over 12,000 fatalities annually.
Key Provisions
- Prize Competition for Anti-Drunk Driving Technology (Section 3):
- Directs the Secretary of Transportation, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to run a competitive program awarding cash prizes (at least $45 million total) for passive technologies that prevent drivers with blood alcohol levels at or above the legal limit from operating vehicles. These could include breath-based, touch-based, or other sensors integrated into passenger motor vehicles.
- Open to individuals, private companies, nonprofits, academic institutions, and partnerships; requires public solicitation of entries.
- Authorizes $50 million from the Highway Trust Fund (excluding mass transit funds) for prizes, administration, and outreach, available until fiscal year 2028 ends.
- Requires congressional notification within 15 days of awards, including technology details, anticipated benefits, and deployment recommendations; a full report due 3 years after enactment on program results and further acceleration steps.
- Traffic Safety Enforcement Center of Excellence (Section 4):
- Establishes a new center within the Department of Transportation (DOT) within 1 year to provide expertise, tools, and training to states and law enforcement on enforcing hazardous driving behaviors, focusing on reducing fatalities from drunk driving, speeding, and drug impairment.
- Duties include promoting evidence-based strategies (e.g., targeted patrols, data-driven hot spot identification), developing training protocols, launching demonstration projects, and convening stakeholders like safety offices, researchers, and victims.
- Workforce to include DOT employees and detailees from other federal agencies; does not override existing DOT certification rules.
- Requires a staffing plan report within 90 days; authorizes $5 million annually from the Highway Trust Fund starting in fiscal year 2026.
- National Drug Involved Crash Data Collection System (Section 5):
- Creates a NHTSA-led system to standardize and collect toxicology data on crashes involving impairing drugs (prescription, over-the-counter, controlled, or illicit substances, excluding alcohol) that cause serious injuries or deaths.
- Includes linking crash data to medical and emergency records, providing model protocols for testing and reporting, piloting in "sentinel sites" across states, and annual public reports on trends and patterns.
- Offers grants to states for labs, training, and data systems, prioritizing high-fatality, rural, or underserved areas; may require non-federal matching funds unless hardship is shown.
- Timelines: Model protocols within 1 year, sentinel sites within 2 years, data collection starting within 3 years of enactment.
- Ensures privacy by de-identifying public data and complying with laws like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which protects health information privacy).
- Authorizes $30 million annually from the Highway Trust Fund for fiscal years 2026–2031.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Accelerates implementation of Section 24220 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021), which mandated advanced anti-drunk driving tech in new vehicles, by using prize incentives to speed up consumer-ready development.
- Introduces new federal programs: a prize competition (previously unused for this specific tech), a dedicated enforcement center (expanding NHTSA's role beyond research), and a national drug crash data system (filling gaps in current alcohol-focused data under the Fatality Analysis Reporting System).
- Shifts emphasis from reactive enforcement to proactive tech integration and data-driven prevention, with dedicated funding streams from the Highway Trust Fund.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: DOT and NHTSA gain new responsibilities for competitions, centers, and data systems, requiring staffing and coordination; states receive grants and technical support to improve enforcement efficiency, potentially reducing crash response costs.
- Citizens: Could lead to safer roads by preventing impaired driving through vehicle tech and better enforcement, lowering the annual toll of over 12,000 drunk driving deaths and drug-related injuries; privacy protections limit risks to personal data.
- International Relations: No direct impacts; focuses on domestic U.S. roadways and stakeholders.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Federal Agencies: DOT/NHTSA (lead implementation), Department of Justice (potential collaborations).
- State and Local Entities: Highway safety offices, law enforcement agencies, and toxicology labs (benefit from grants, training, and data tools).
- Private and Innovation Sectors: Automakers, tech developers, nonprofits, and academics (eligible for prizes to advance vehicle-integrated sensors).
- Public: Drivers, crash victims/survivors, and road users (gains from reduced fatalities); rural and underserved communities prioritized for funding.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Reinforces federal authority over highway safety under title 23 of the U.S. Code (highway funding programs) without infringing on state enforcement powers; privacy safeguards align with HIPAA and constitutional protections against unreasonable searches (e.g., via de-identified data).
- Constitutional: No apparent conflicts; promotes public welfare through preventable safety measures, consistent with the general welfare clause.
- Political: Bipartisan sponsorship (introduced by Reps. Gillen, Lawler, and Dingell) signals broad support for road safety; requires congressional oversight via reports and notices, potentially influencing future appropriations; emphasizes evidence-based, cost-effective strategies to appeal to fiscal conservatives while addressing public health priorities.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (2)
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17], Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
Recent Actions
- 2026-02-02: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
- 2025-12-15: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
- 2025-12-15: Introduced in House
- 2025-12-15: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Drunk Driving Prevention and Enforcement Act of 2025 — issued 2025-12-15 — PDF (12 pages)