First Time Drunk Drivers Targeted In New Law

Susy Owen

Attorney

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First time offenders of drunk driving will be subject to harsher penalties in six states due to new law that went into effect last week. Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska and Washington state began Jan. 1 requiring ignition interlock devices for all motorists convicted of first-time drunken driving. South Carolina began requiring them for repeat offenders.

The ignition interlocks require the driver to blow into the detector to prove that they are sober before starting the ignition.

The cost of installation, rental and periodic retesting fees are cited as major inconveniences of the new law. Those inconveniences are said to have lessened New Mexico’s drunk driving deaths by 20 percent since the law was enacted in 2005 according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

In Illinois and Colorado, offenders will have the option to install the device or to have their license suspended. Many other states, including California, allow a judge to decide whether to suspend the drunk driver’s license or to mandate installation of the ignition interlock.