1 . The United States Congress has passed a bill which created a new requirement for carmakers: they must have systems built into new cars as early as 2026 that can keep drunk people from driving cars.

“It’s a remarkable decision.” said Alex Otte. She is president of the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Otte added that the bill would remove “the number-one killer on America's roads”.

Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration（NHTSA）reported that an estimated 20,160 people died in car crashes in the first half of 2021. That is the highest first-half total since 2006. The agency says that fast driving, drunk driving and not wearing seatbelts are reasons for the increase. Each year, around 10,000 people in the United States are killed because of alcohol-related ear crashes. That is almost 30 percent of all traffic deaths, the NHTSA says.

Currently, some people who were charged with drunk driving in the past must use a breathalyzer device in order to start their car. A breathalyzer measures blood alcohol level. The device can turn off a car if the driver's blood alcohol level is too high.

The bill does not name a kind of technology, only saying that it must identify whether that driver may be drunk.

Sam Abuelsamid is with Guidehouse Insights, a market research company. He said the most likely system to prevent drunken driving is infrared（红外线的）cameras that look for driver behavior.

The cameras make sure a driver is watching the road, and they look for signs of being sleepy or drunk. If the system sees any signs, the car will warn the driver. If the behavior continues, the car will turn on warning lights, slow down and move to the side of the road. Such technology is already being used by some carmakers.

The bill also requires carmakers to create back-seat reminders to tell parents if a child is left in the back seat. Congress has also ordered the NHTSA to make new safety requirements for cars. Many carmakers, however, have already made those changes in their latest models.