The Best DWI Defense Blog » Ignition Interlock Devices

New York’s Proposed Felony DWI Law

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:50:21 +0000

Governor Paterson (D) of New York state has submitted a bill that would toughen laws for drinking and driving with a child 16 or under as a passenger. The new proposed law is called the Child Passenger Protection Act. It will be considered in the fall when the New York Senate and House reconvene.

As proposed, the law would make it a Class B felony if a minor where killed in an accident while riding with an intoxicated driver. The punishment would be 5 to 25 years in prison. If the minor were injured instead of killed, then it would be a Class C felony with three and a half to 15 years in prison. If convicted of driving intoxicated with a minor where no injuries or death were caused, it would be a Class E felony with up to 4 years in prison. The proposed law also specifies that anyone charged with having a BAC higher than .08 while driving a passenger who is 16 or under, would lose their license pending prosecution. Conviction in this scenario would result in loss of license for a year. The loss of license penalty is increased to a year and a half if the driver had a prior DWI in the past 10 years.

In addition to these penalties, anyone convicted would also be categorized as a “serious offender” and would be required to have a ignition interlock for one year. This makes the car inoperable unless the driver demonstrates his sobriety by blowing into the device prior to starting the car. This proposed law would make this mandatory instead of at the court’s discretion.

You can read the Governor’s press release here.

Deadly Interlock

admin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:32:14 +0000

Readers of this blog have reported incidents where the ignition interlock device has led to almost deadly consequences. One incident involved a car that stalled out in the middle of an intersection on a rainy day. The driver was almost hit twice by cars coming from the cross street. He was blowing in the device, trying to get the car started, while his life and that of the passengers in the other vehicles were at risk. He had not been drinking.

Another reader reported almost crashing into a school bus while blowing into the ignition interlock device. These devices require that the driver blow into them to start the car and also blow periodically as the operator is driving the car. It is hard to believe that this is required of repeat DWI offenders when public policy has been going in the direction of not allowing drivers to do anything that is distracting. Recent laws disallow using cell phones for verbal communication, or for sending text messages while driving.

I hope that the various states that require these devices reconsider their positions and consider public safety. The only device that I believe safe and sensible is the technology being developed by Toyota that senses blood alcohol level from sweat passed from the hands to the steering wheel. Let’s hope common sense prevails.

Ignition Interlock

admin — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:08:16 +0000

Several states have enacted additional laws designed to make it tougher to drink and drive. Starting January 1, 2009, Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska and Washington have made it mandatory for first time DWI offenders to install an ignition interlock device that prevents you from operating a vehicle without first blowing into a device that determines if you are past the legal limit of alcohol consumption for driving. I don’t know how clever the designers of the device were, but I would venture to guess that a paper bag full of inflated balloons could be used to circumvent this techno-nanny.

The aforementioned states join New Mexico, Arizona, and Louisiana, which already have similar laws. South Carolina has passed the same law, but only for repeat offenders. Other states have the option of imposing the device in lieu of loss of registration privileges.

The costs involved with these devices are quite high. There is an installation charge, a monthly lease payment, and a monthly surcharge to the state. I see it as another revenue generator for a few companies and extremely greedy governments.

It is time to outlaw drinking altogether or to reform DWI laws and punishments so that they make sense and are effective in preventing accidents and deaths. Toyota is engineering a steering wheel that can detect blood alcohol content from the perspiration of your hands. Maybe this should be standard on all vehicles. What do you think?