New evidence indicates that ignition interlock devices, which prevent a vehicle's engine from starting if it detects the driver has been drinking, are working.
According to a new report from MADD, these car-locking systems have stopped more than 1.77 million drunken drives across the country since states first passed ignition interlock laws. The technology is connected to a vehicle's ignition and requires a breath sample before the engine starts. If the device detects a blood alcohol level that exceeds a pre-set limit, it blocks the car's engine from starting.
Every state now requires ignition interlock devices for some drunk driving offenders, but MADD says current laws don't go far enough.
The organization recommended that all 50 states require ignition interlocks for all offenders following a drunk driving offense. Twenty-five states already have such laws, including Texas, Arizona, West Virginia, and New Mexico.
"MADD knows ignition interlocks save lives, and they could save even more lives if every offender is required to use the device after the first arrest," MADD National President Colleen Sheehey-Church, whose 18-year-old son Dustin was killed by an underage drunk and drugged driver, said in a statement. "The fact that so many people have attempted to drive impaired — even after being caught and ordered to use an ignition interlock — tells us that we must put technology between all offenders and their cars."
Sheehey-Church specifically called out states like Maryland, Florida, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to adopt stronger ignition interlock laws.
"If your state is not one of the 25 with an all-offender law, ask your legislators why," she recommended.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, meanwhile, found that ignition interlock devices have effectively reduced repeat drunk driving offenses by 67 percent. The National Transportation Safety Board has also in the past recommended that all convicted drunk drivers have ignition interlock devices installed in their cars.
Source: pcmag.com
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