Interlock Facts

WASHINGTON – Today the American Beverage Institute (ABI), which represents over 700 California restaurants, urged the Senate Committee on Public Safety to amend ignition interlock bill AB91 which is being heard at 9am today. This bill would mandate the installation of breathalyzers in the cars of low-BAC (blood alcohol concentration), first-time offenders in three of California’s most populous counties - Los Angeles, Alameda, and Sacramento.

“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,” said ABI spokeswoman Sarah Longwell.

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that the average BAC of a drunk driver in a fatal car crash in California is 0.18 percent -- more than 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.”

 

Laws mandating ignition interlocks for all offenders deny judges the ability to distinguish between a driver one sip over the limit and high-BAC, repeat offenders.

That’s why 27 states have passed high-BAC and repeat-offender laws, while just 11 target low-BAC, first-time offenders. If this bill passes, California will join the handful of states that punish all marginal, first-time offenders the same as hardcore drunk drivers.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is behind this bill because low-BAC, first-offender mandates are an incremental step in a broader campaign to see ignition interlock technology installed in all new cars as standard equipment.

 

“By requiring the devices for marginal, first-time offenders, MADD hopes to normalize the technology in the eyes of the public, so the idea of interlocks in all cars doesn’t seem that far-fetched,” said Longwell.

 

The campaign for these “universal interlocks” is moving quickly. The federal government has partnered with MADD and auto manufacturers (including General Motors, Ford, Toyota, BMW, Volvo, and Nissan) to develop ignition interlock technology that would come as standard equipment in all cars in the near future. The devices would be set far below the legal limit – effectively eliminating millions of Americans’ ability to have a glass of wine with dinner, a beer at a ball game, or a champagne toast at a wedding and drive home.

Longwell concluded, “AB91 doesn’t target hard core alcohol abusers, it denies judicial discretion, and it is the first step toward interlocks in all cars. There is an easy fix for this bill: amend it to apply to high-BAC and repeat-offenders."