Interlock Facts

WASHINGTON – Today the American Beverage Institute (ABI) denounced ignition interlock bill SB95 which was just passed by the House Judiciary Committee, essentially eliminating a public hearing of the bill in the State Senate. This bill would mandate the installation of breathalyzers in the cars of low-BAC (blood alcohol concentration), first-time offenders.

In this sneaky legislative move last Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee gutted SB95 – a bill completely unrelated to drunk driving – and replaced it with the text of HB2315 (an ignition interlock bill that has been stalled in Committee). The Committee then quickly passed the bill before it could face public criticism. Worse, unless the full House votes against this bill and continues the legislative process for HB2315, the Senate Judiciary Committee will not be able to hold a hearing on the interlock provision of this bill.

 

“The low-BAC, first-offender ignition interlock proposal should not move forward until the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a public hearing on it,” said ABI spokeswoman Sarah Longwell. “By mandating breathalyzers for first time offenders, regardless of their BAC level, this proposal ignores the root cause of today’s drunk driving problem—hard core alcohol abusers.”

 

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that the average BAC of a drunk driver in a fatal car crash is 0.18% -- twice the legal limit. Additionally, a NHTSA administrator has said that today’s problem is “by far and away” made up of “those who have alcohol use disorders.” Former MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) president Katherine Prescott has made similar statements, saying that the drunk driving problem has been reduced to “a hard core of alcoholics who do not respond to public appeal.”

 

But the bill pending in Kansas fails to target this dangerous population and instead will force first-time DUI offenders, even those just one sip over the legal limit, to install breathalyzers in their cars. In fact, former MADD chapter Executive Director, Charles V. Peña, has said “a first time offender - at the legal limit of .08 BAC should not automatically receive the same punishment as someone driving at more than twice that and with prior convictions.”

 

Low-BAC, first-offender bills like this one are part of a little-known movement that seeks to mandate ignition interlock technology in all cars as standard equipment in the United States.



“It would be a crime to allow a bill this serious to pass without holding a public debate in the form of committee hearings in both chambers,” said Longwell.

 

“With Kansas’ drunk driving limit set at .08 BAC, this bill would mandate that drivers install a breathalyzer in their car for behavior that, according to numerous studies, impairs them less than driving while talking on a hands-free cell phone,” said Longwell. “A 120 pound woman can reach the .08 BAC level by having two glasses of wine in two hours. Should she receive the same punishment as someone with a .18 BAC level or multiple offenses?"