New US Law May Allow Police Officers To Turn Your Car Off With A Universal Emergency Switch

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Can the government turn off civilian vehicles with a switch?
GM already has this technology.
The car's emergency stop switch also has other meanings.

The United States authorities may interfere with your vehicle depending on your driving habits or if you are under the influence of alcohol. To do this, the law requires new vehicles to have a new device installed that allows the authorities to turn off your vehicle using an emergency switch.

Government oversight is one of the biggest chasms separating Republicans and Democrats, at least historically. But lately, the topic of state control with COVID-19 protocols and mask mandates has been popular. However, a new Washington State law may require all new vehicles to install kill switches that law enforcement can operate at their discretion to mitigate drunk driving and police chases.

Can the government turn off civilian vehicles with a switch?

On the one hand, police chases are extremely dangerous not only for cops and robbers, but also for innocent bystanders. It seems worth finding a way to reduce these dangerous events. However, many worry that such tactics are a big step towards authoritarianism, which the country does not need.

It includes legislation that could allow the police or other government agencies to disable new vehicles at the touch of a button. The proposed bill would require all automakers to install this kill switch on all new vehicles.

GM already has this technology.

As of 2009, GM has installed a similar system on 1.7 million of its vehicles, allowing prosecution officers to remotely request the engine shutdown of stolen vehicles via . While this new law may have disturbing implications, others like it have come and gone without much fuss.

The car's emergency stop switch also has other meanings.

One of the joys of owning an American car is the freedom that comes with it. President Biden's infrastructure bill refers to these kill switches as a safety device. The bill states that it will "passively monitor the performance of a vehicle driver to accurately determine if that driver has a violation."

Not only can a police officer decide to immobilize your car, the device itself can also evaluate the quality of your driving. Theoretically, if you do something that the system has programmed to recognize driver violations, your car could simply stall.

It's important to note that this law under President Biden's infrastructure bill won't go into effect in another five years, so there's no guarantee it'll stay in place or be as egregious as we think. Time will tell.

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