It almost certainly is, at least when combined with the intentional inattention that follows.

Making it a crime isn't an "obvious solution" to actually make it not happen. Drunk driving is a crime and yet people keep doing it. Same with texting and driving.

The problem is determining who is liable for damages, not prevention. Shifting the liability for willfully disabling a safety control puts them on notice.

Prevention as a goal is how we end up with dystopia.

Gonna be pretty difficult to enforce. Many US states don't even enforce a minimum roadworthiness of cars on the roads.

Does that even matter? If the state doesn’t care to enforce its laws against reckless driving, why should the manufacturer be encumbered with that responsibility?