Over the last century, the Land of the Free has slowly transformed into a land governed by endless laws, largely by cracking down on vices instead of actual crimes, creating a society that would render us all criminals if our behavior were constantly observed. Meanwhile, the state has steadily expanded its use of mass surveillance, largely under the pretext of fighting “terror.”
This is a toxic mixture.
The question of whether government should be able to disable your vehicle is indeed a political one.
It’s not the government shutting down your vehicle. It’s a regulatory requirement for car manufacturers to include a new safety device that the government is creating a standard for.
And disabling is not a requirement of this regulation. It says the device should disable OR limit operation of the vehicle when impairment is detected.
None of that hair splitting changes the basic fact that this is a question of the government taking away people’s car. The fact that it might only slow you down, the fact they’re ordering others to carry it out instead of doing it themselves, it’s all the same thing.
Do you feel the same way about seatbelt laws?
Do you feel like it’s a bad thing when the government takes the license (and therefore car) of a drunk driver?