"Explaining the Car 'Kill Switch' Controversy

[orleans]

my daughter asked me if i heard of this, said she's been reading posts about it. i don't recall hearing of this so i googled and found this article from kelly blue book:

A growing social media frenzy suggests that the federal government will soon require a “kill switch” in new cars. In its most extreme form, the claim says it would let government officials deactivate all cars remotely.

The rumor spiraled last week as politicians got involved. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posted to X (the social media site formerly known as Twitter) saying, “The idea that the federal government would require auto manufacturers to equip cars with a ‘kill switch’ that can be controlled by the government is something you’d expect in Orwell’s 1984.”

What is this controversy that pits Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) against the governor of Florida and some House Republicans?

snip

The law in question is known as the HALT Drunk Driving Act, and was passed as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It passed both the Senate and House that year, with the support of all Democrats and 19 Republicans in the former, and 200 Democrats and 13 Republicans in the latter.
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more

https://www.kbb.com/car-news/explaining-the-car-kill-switch-controversy/

and, along the same line, a multi state floral company (that bought out a chicagoland floral chain) put cameras in their delivery vans. a driver said the camera yelled at him "put down your phone! put down your phone!" when he was taking a bite of an apple. it will also yell "eyes on the road eyes on the road!"

i used to drive for a couple floral companies when i was in my early twenties. i loved that job, loved driving, and when i was delivering to people (and not flower shops) they were always so delighted to be getting flowers.

i don't think i'd care for it too much if i had some camera yelling at me or even just watching me.