Interlock Facts

The proposed measure would punish drivers charged with driving just a sip over the limit. NEW JERSEY fines a driver speeding 5 mph over the limit $10. A driver caught speeding more than 20 mph over the limit owes $200. The rest of the state's traffic offenses follow the same theme: The severity of the crime determines the severity of the punishment.

But a new bill before the Legislature would change that. As with speeders, there's a big difference between a person driving after two drinks and a drunk who drives after 10. However, legislation proposed by state Sens. John Adler and Jim Whelan would force New Jersey judges to ignore that difference and punish drivers charged with driving just a sip over the limit with the same sentence given hard-core offenders: ignition interlocks. Ignition interlocks are in-car breathalyzers that measure a driver's blood alcohol concentration. If a breath sample registers above a preset level, the engine will not start.

These devices were originally developed for chronic drunken drivers with extreme alcohol levels. Already, many courts in New Jersey and across the nation successfully prescribe interlocks to keep alcohol abusers and repeat offenders off our roads. But now anti-alcohol activists are looking for a new target.

Proponents of the bill claim the measure will fight the drunken driving problem. National statistics, though, prove that the problem has been reduced to a few individuals who severely abuse alcohol and still choose to drive. Mandating interlocks for first-time offenders doesn't focus on those dangerous criminals. With an average blood alcohol content of .19 percent — more than double the legal limit — the average drunken driver in a fatal crash has slurred speech, uncoordinated movements and delayed reactions. That's the scenario many people imagine when we hear about drunken driving. In reality, it only takes one drink to get arrested for driving while intoxicated in many states.

Even though all 50 states list 0.08 BAC as the legal limit, many law enforcement agencies have adopted the notion endorsed by New Jersey's Division of Highway and Traffic Safety: You can be convicted of drunken driving if you consume any amount of alcohol. The bar has been set so low that last year, police arrested drivers in Oregon and Florida for drunken driving even though they were completely sober. One arrestee was presumed drunk simply because he struggled with a field test of counting down from 1,030 in increments of 7.

In New Jersey, the reliability of the state's alcohol-testing technology has fallen under scrutiny. Some 10,000 drunken-driving cases were put on hold as the breath-test machine used in those cases was challenged. The court last week upheld the machines' use, but issued a series of safeguards to prevent abuse and inaccurate results. States can already arrest us for driving after any alcohol consumption. So it's rational to assume that many first-time offenders are not guilty of drunken driving, but of drinking and driving, which is perfectly legal in all 50 states. A couple of drafts at a ballgame, a glass of wine at an anniversary dinner, a wedding toast or two: Moderate drinking — not enough to render you "impaired," let alone drunk — may soon be all it takes for drivers in New Jersey to be charged with drinken driving and saddled with an interlock in their car.

Other states have gone so far as to propose "universal" legislation — lobbying for mandatory interlocks in every car in the state. This kind of silliness may sound far off, but it's closer than you may think. Auto 'sniffers' Saab, Nissan, Toyota and other car manufacturers are already developing new interlock technology that could be manufactured as standard equipment. In early 2007, Nissan unveiled a concept car fit with odor sensors to "sniff" any alcohol in the cabin. A host of other equally intrusive prototypes — such as dashboard-mounted monitors and steering wheel and gearshift detectors — can sense if you had Irish coffee for dessert.

This kind of zero tolerance is not anti-drunks. It's anti-drinks. It's important to remember that drivers who speed or talk on their phones are more likely to crash than those who have 0.08 BAC. Though these reckless behaviors contribute to a growing death toll, New Jersey legislators are not clamoring to mandate speed-capping technology for first-time speeders. If our representatives are serious about improving traffic safety, they should heed an age-old saying: "Let the punishment fit the crime."

Sarah Longwell is the managing director of the American Beverage Institute in Washington, D.C.