Ignition Interlock Device

If your BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) is .15 or higher at the time of your DUI arrest, chances are good that you will have to have an Ignition Interlock Device installed on your car. You will also be required by court order to have one of these devices installed on every vehicle registered in your name. An ignition interlock device is a mechanism that is installed below your dashboard that you will have to breathe into each time before you start your vehicle. If your BAC is over a certain amount, your vehicle will not start. The court will mandate that you have one of these devices installed before you start driving on your restricted driver's license. It varies from state to state, but on average, the device is required to be installed for at least 6 months.

You will have to take your vehicle to a local dealer that installs and maintains the interlock devices. You will pay $50-$200 to have the device installed. Once it is installed, you will have to pay $50-$100 for the monthly rental costs of the device. Every 60 days or so you will also have to take your vehicle to the dealer to have the device calibrated. Clearly, this can get very costly if you have multiple vehicles registered in your name.

The ignition interlock also has a feature called "rolling tests" that require a driver to blow into the device while the vehicle is running. The purpose of the rolling tests is to prevent sober individuals from blowing into the device for intoxicated drivers. If this test is positive, alarms such as your horn and flashing lights will go off. These alarms will not stop until the ignition is turned off.

The ignition interlock device contains a computer chip that records your BAC when you breath into the device. If there is a positive reading the vehicle will not start from that point forward. The computer chip also will detect any tampering of the device. If the chip records a positive reading or signs of tampering, your ASAP case worker and/or the law enforcement officials will be contacted immediately. This would be grounds for violation of your probation period and you will then be required to go back to court for additional penalties, jail time, or fines. You could also lose the privilege to drive for a longer period of time.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving went to Washington late last year in an attempt to push Congress to make these devices mandatory for life for all drunk driving offenders. New Mexico is the only state that currently has that law in place and the year after the law was passed, fatalities from drunk driving accidents there decreased by 13%. The Virginia State Senate just passed legislation (February 2012) that requires ignition interlock to be installed in all cases of DUI conviction, regardless of the BAC level. General Motors is doing research on making these types of devices standard on all vehicles.