4 days ago
Delays in anti-drunken driving auto tech frustrate Illinois mom who lost son in crash
The mother of a McHenry, Illinois man who was killed by a drunken driver in 2018 is pushing for a technology in new cars that she said would have saved her son's life — and she is frustrated by delays in its implementation.
Sheila Lockwood lost her 23-year-old son, Austin, to a drunken driver on June 10, 2018.
Every single day since, Lockwood has been teaming up with stakeholders trying to make it harder for drunken drivers to get behind the wheel.
"We know that there's technology that could stop this from happening," said Lockwood.
In 2021, Lockwood was instrumental in helping get the HALT Act signed into law. The acronym stands for "Honoring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate Drunk Driving," and is named for Issam and Rima Abbas of the Detroit area and their three children — Ali, 13; Isabelle, 12; and Giselle, 7 — who were struck and killed by a wrong-way drunken driver on I-75 near Lexington, Kentucky, while returning from a Florida vacation in January 2019.
The law requires a new federal regulation for anti-drunken driving technology to be installed in new cars.
The technology can passively detect a drunk driver by the air he or she breathes out. It measures the ratio of carbon dioxide and alcohol to determine what a would-be driver's blood alcohol must be.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving was joined by members of the auto insurance industry and the alcohol industry in advocating for the tech in new vehicles.
"Anheuser-Busch is a huge supporter," said Lockwood.
The target rollout year for the tech was 2026. But nearly four years later, the finish line has been pushed back — in part thanks to pushback from some lawmakers trying to repeal the requirement using another piece of legislation, the No Kill Switches in Cars Act.
One lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) claimed the anti-DUI technology can be used to "restrict your travel or to track you without a warrant."
"There's been a lot of false information out there," Lockwood said. "Nobody has the right to drive impaired."
The new goal for implementation is 2030, and Lockwood said she is pushing to make sure that is the end of the delays.
"We have been waiting now for four years," Lockwood said. "That's 40,000 lives we could have saved."
CBS News Chicago reached out to several lawmakers trying to repeal the HALT Act for comment for this story, but had not heard back late Monday.
Lockwood will be back in Washington, D.C., this September, pushing for the requirement finally to be implemented.
