Making It Legal For Drinking and Driving In Self-Driving Cars? Experts Say Yes!

This is some news that may shock you, but a regulatory board in Australia is saying that people in self-driving cars should be able to use the car and not be guilty of drinking and driving laws, if they are or have been drinking. Yes, they think it is legal to have consumed alcohol and then get into a driverless car and not face any drunk driving consequences.

This puts a whole new twist on the drinking and driving debate and something no one saw coming really. The National Transport Commission (NTC), an independent advisory body, said that current drinking and driving laws would reduce the number of sales for automated vehicles. They say this could change if owners did not have to comply with the drunk driving laws.

Really? The NTC thinks more self-driving vehicles would be sold if people could get wasted and then let them drive them home? That is exactly what they are saying, as they said, “This would create a barrier to using a vehicle to safely drive home after drinking. Enabling people to use an automated vehicle to drive them home despite having consumed alcohol has the potential to improve road safety outcomes by reducing the incidence of drinking and driving.”

The board came to the conclusion that a person in a self-driving vehicle is the same as a person in a taxi. However, there are concerns of a person taking over the vehicle. If this happens, the NTC said the driver should only then be obligated to follow the drinking and driving laws.

Governments across the world are looking into the implications that driverless cars will have on the law and the insurance industry.

What do you think of this concept?

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[Photo by Alcohol Rehab Guide]