• 06
  • January
    2012

Enforced implementation of alcohol detection systems in cars could have an impact on the percentage of car accidents resulting from drunk driving. For Colorado residents who have been injured in an accident, the device cannot take back the injury, but it may offer peace of mind while promoting safety for others on the road.

The ignition interlock system is in the news again with Connecticut becoming the 15th state to mandate it for any driver caught with blood-alcohol content above the legal limit. Ignition interlock systems are implemented on a state-by-state basis and they are heavily pushed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Dependent upon state laws, the device is installed after a driver is convicted of driving drunk and it prevents the driver from starting the ignition if the included breathalyzer test is failed.

Technology advances on many models, such as cameras, make it difficult to cheat the system by having someone other than the driver take the test.

Most states require the driver to pay to have the device installed.

While 24 states currently mandate the use of ignition interlock systems for repeat offenders or those caught driving with a blood-alcohol level of .15 or greater, in Colorado alcohol detection systems are given as an alternative to other penalties for those caught driving at a level of.08 or greater.

In 2006, MADD launched an effort to mandate ignition interlock systems across all 50 states as a more severe alternative to the threat of a suspended license - a punishment that is reportedly ignored by and ineffective for 75 percent of motorists convicted of drunk driving.

With Colorado's mandatory .08 blood-alcohol level conviction and the incentivized use of the alcohol detecting ignition interlock system, advocates of the system hope to see a decrease in injuries and deaths from car accidents caused by drunk driving.

Source: MSNBC, "Curbing drunken drivers: Should ignition interlock be required on every car?" Jim Gold, Jan. 5, 2011