Ignition Interlock Devices – An Important Tool in the Fight Against Drunk Driving
The average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before a first arrest. On any given day, your family shares the roadways with more than 2 million drunk drivers who have had three or more prior convictions.
While suspending the license of these individuals makes sense, three out of four of those with a suspended license continue to drive. That’s why MADD supports the usage of ignition interlock devices to require all convicted drunk drivers to prove they are sober before the car will start.
What is an Ignition Interlock? An ignition interlock is a device about the size of a cell phone that is wired into the ignition system of a vehicle. A convicted drunk driver must blow into the device to start their vehicle. If they have a measurable amount of alcohol in their system, the vehicle will not start. It is a simple and economical way to make sure that offenders can drive to and from work, but that they can’t drive drunk. Devices include cameras now, to record the identity of the person blowing into the device, and the driver is required to continue to blow into the device every so often to continue to operate the vehicle.
Do they work? In the US in 2020, Ignition Interlock devices stopped 3.2 million attempts to drive with a BAC of .02 or greater. Source.
Ignition Interlocks in Virginia
Since 2012, Ignition Interlock Devices are required as a condition of a restricted license for all DUI convictions.
In Virginia in 2020, there were 31,483 attempts to start a vehicle by an impaired driver. 27,688 were by people with a BAC between .02 and .079, and 3,815 attempts were by drivers with a BAC of .08 or over. Despite cameras, circumvention attempts, like asking another person to blow into the device, still occur! It is a Class I Misdemeanor in Virginia to attempt to circumvent an Ignition Interlock Device, or to assist in circumventing an Ignition Interlock Device.
To learn more: Read this report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, read this just released report from the Governors Highway Safety Association, visit The Commission on VASAP website, view VASAP Ignition Interlock awareness videos or visit the MADD website.
