Ignition locks proposed to curb drunken drivers
People convicted of drunken driving in California soon may have to blow in a tube to prove they’re sober before their vehicle will start.
State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, wants to expand a program already in place in four California counties, including Alameda, and 24 other states. Under the proposed state law Hill will introduce Monday, anyone convicted of driving under the influence would be required to install an ignition interlock device in their car for six months on a first offense and a year on a second conviction.
Drunken drivers kill 1,000 people in California each year and injure 20,000, Hill said, and research shows people convicted of drunken driving are rarely doing it for the first time: Repeat offenders account for one-third of annual convictions in the state.
Hill has a personal reason for proposing the measure. Thirty years ago, his best friend was killed by a drunken driver. He said he was also moved to act when he read a story a few years ago about a man arrested for his ninth DUI who still had a license.
“I felt the pain that families who lose loved ones to drunk drivers felt, and no one should have to go through that,” he said. “The statistics show that if you are caught once, you have probably been
drunk driving 80 times before that ... that’s what prompted me to write this legislation, besides the memories of my friend.”
It’s impossible to be too tough on drunken drivers, said shoppers interviewed Friday in San Francisco.
“The stricter the better,” said Randi Johnsen, a 38-year-old landscape architect from San Francisco. “A zero-tolerance approach might help more people from hurting themselves and others.”
Using technology
Hill’s proposal would make a difference in many ways, said Alan Kennedy, 50, of Pacifica.
“How many accidents, deaths, injuries occur as a result of DUIs?” he asked. And that doesn’t count “the cost to the health care system, court system, to family economics and community safety.”
Ignition interlock devices are basically Breathalyzers that are connected to a vehicle’s ignition. A driver must breathe into the device before the engine will start, and if the device detects a blood-alcohol level above a preset limit, the car won’t run. Under the legislation, an offend- er would have to pay to install and lease the device. If he or she cannot afford it, the company that owns the devices would help pay. The devices generally cost about $100 for installation and $50 to $100 a month to lease them.
The National Transportation Safety Board recommended two years ago that every state adopt the sort of law being proposed by Hill, saying it is the best way to reduce drunken-driving deaths, which kill more than 32,000 people a year.
Frank Harris, director of state government affairs for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the technology works much better than more punitive actions, such as an all-out ban on driving, which can make it hard for people to hold jobs. Many convicted drunken drivers continue to drive, even with suspended licenses, he said.
‘Way more effective’
In 2009, 43,000 people in California with DUI convictions were rearrested for driving on suspended licenses.
“Research shows this is way more effective than just hoping for the best,” Harris said, adding that because California’s Department of Motor Vehicles already runs the four-county pilot program, “MADD believes California is well equipped to roll this out statewide.”
Hill cited several Bay Area stories to drive home the need for the law, including the triplemurder conviction of Denis Demacedo in November. Demacedo was on probation for a drunken-driving charge when he plowed his car into another vehicle in Daly City, killing a family of three in 2013.
It’s not the first alcohol-related traffic legislation Hill has introduced since he arrived in Sacramento. He also wrote laws that allow judges to suspend a third-time DUI offender’s license for 10 years, and another that holds party bus companies responsible for underage drinking on their vehicles.