On October 18, the Pennsylvania Senate Transportation Committee approved a new bill which would require ignition interlock devices to be installed in the vehicles of all first time offenders. The current Pennsylvania ignition interlock law does not require first time offenders to utilize ignition interlock devices. Interlock devices cost roughly $1,000, not to mention monthly monitoring and calibration fees, and they must be installed on all vehicles owned by the offender.  So, if this bill passes and you own more than one vehicle, you will need to spend $1,000 to equip each vehicle with the interlock device and pay additional costs for monitoring and calibration fees, in addition to all the other onerous fines and costs involved with a first time DUI.

The impetus behind this bill is a belief that many people whose licenses are suspended due to a DUI continue to drive, even during the period of ther suspension.  The new bill seeks to alleviate that problem and, in its current form, will make it easier for a person with a driver's license suspended for DUI to obtain an occupational limited license (which goes completely against the heavy-handed punishment approach that is usually taken against DUI offenders).  

So, how effective is ignition interlock?  Studies show that while ignition interlock seems to reduce subsequent DUIs,  it is only effective for the duration that the device is on the offender's vehicle(s).  Once the ignition interlock device is removed, the recidivism rate is essentially the same as DUI offenders who never used an interlock device.   This means that, for all the hoopla, ignition interlock is only effective as a short-term solution and only delays repeat offenses, unless the next piece of legislation sentences drivers to a lifetime sentence of ignition interlock. 

Are there any unforeseen problems with ignition interlock?  Yes, a study by the California Department of Motor Vehicles found that installation of an ignition interlock device actually increases the odds of the motorist crashing.  Why would using an interlock device increase crashes?  The answer is simple, after blowing into the device to start the vehicle, the device will ask for a breath sample at random times after the engine has been started.  If the breath sample is not provided in a certain amount of time, the device logs the event and starts up an alarm (lights flashing, horn honking) that continues until the ignition is shut off or until a clean breath sample is provided.  It is not difficult to imagine a driver in this situation scrambling to get off the road to provide a breath sample and being distracted enough to cause a crash.  

Incidentally, this California study also found that use of ignition interlock had no effect whatsoever on the percentage of first time offenders who commmitted a subsequent DUI offense.  I guess that makes the point of this new legislation....pointless.