A new law allows motorists who are arrested for DUI to apply for a special license to have an alcohol breath-testing system installed in their car — and avoid having their driver’s license suspended.
The systems, called alcohol ignition interlocks, have been used for many years in Washington. They won’t let a vehicle’s engine start if they detect alcohol.
In the past, judges sometimes ordered use of an alcohol interlock only after a conviction for DUI. What’s new is that drivers arrested on suspicion of DUI can immediately apply to the Department of Licensing to get the special license to use the device.
The optional interlock license costs $100, plus about $75 a month, depending on the installer’s rates, for as long as it’s required by judges, which can be months or years.
Officials say that’s far less of a penalty than the automatic license suspension that’s been used in the past.
The licenses, when granted, allow arrested motorists to drive to work, so they can keep their jobs.
They also can drive their kids to school, make doctor appointments and get on with their day-to-day lives as their court case unfolds.
That’s as long as they use the interlock properly and stay sober while driving.
“We don’t want to keep people from driving,” said Steve Lind, deputy director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. “We just want to keep them from drinking and driving.”
The new law is the product of about 18 months of study by safety officials, police, legislators and others. They looked closely at a similar law in New Mexico that yielded good results, Lind said.
These benefits are hoped for:
n “We hope this will get drunk drivers off the road, No. 1,” said Selena Davis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Licensing. “And we hope it will reduce the number of people driving illegally while their license is suspended.”
n Since some drivers arrested for DUI now have a way to keep driving, more may simply plead guilty to the charge. That could mean fewer full-blown court cases, which are costly to the court system and thus the taxpayers.
n Drivers who use the alcohol interlocks properly can waive their license-suspension hearings, so fewer of the administrative hearings will be required, another cost break for taxpayers.
n The new license also requires that the folks who obtain it prove they have insurance.
Somewhere in that mix, it’s hoped there will fewer traffic crashes — and the tragedies and monetary costs to individuals and the public that follow them.
About 40 percent of fatal traffic crashes in Washington in 2007 involved alcohol, which is the No. 1 cause of fatal accidents, Lind said.
“If you go after the main causes, you’re going to make a difference everywhere.”
Less injustice?
Under the former system, an arrested person could suffer automatic license suspension for 30 days or much longer, and later be acquitted of the DUI charge.
“When you fail the breath test, you may not go to court for a year,” Lind said.
Now, he said, “You can apply for the (interlock license) the day after you’re arrested. You can get it well before the administrative suspension kicks in.”
Deterrents to drunk driving remain
Motorists arrested for DUI still will have daunting problems, such as about $8,000 in court fees, fines and attorney bills, insurance hikes and jail for a first conviction.
In addition, Lind said, penalties have been increased for interlock license holders who are caught driving without the system.
To reap the hoped-for benefits, officials also are working with companies that manufacture the interlock devices and those that install them. In some cases, the installers weren’t keeping proper records.
The manufacturers now “are very interested in their vendors’ doing it properly,” he said.
The interlock license also includes a charge of $20 per month for motorists who can pay it.
That money goes into a fund that will help indigent drivers get the license.
“They didn’t want to offer this only to people who could afford it,” Lind said.
Starting sober after a DUI arrest - Columbian.com
