After years of trying to convince drunk drivers to change their behavior, police and safety advocates are now looking to change something else: the drivers’ cars.
A bill making ignition-interlock devices — which measure the alcohol in a driver’s breath before letting the car start — mandatory for people convicted of driving with a blood alcohol level of .15 or more goes into effect in Maryland this fall.
But some want to go even further, and make the devices mandatory in all DUI convictions, which 14 states do now. And research is under way to develop cars equipped with alcohol-detection equipment.
“The next frontier in this discussion is using technology to prevent impaired drivers from getting out on the road,” said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Arlington-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Research is being done on how to build cars that could detect drivers’ intoxication through their skin or breath, said Mothers Against Drunk Driving President Jan Withers.
Eventual changes to cars are important, Withers said, because penalties haven’t been effective enough in curbing drunken driving. People with suspended licenses drive anyway, and courts often don’t harshly penalize first-time offenders, she said.
“People continue to drive impaired because they can,” Withers said.
In the meantime, MADD will push for states to make the existing ignition-interlock devices mandatory after all drunken-driving convictions.
Drivers can get around the system, by having someone else blow into the device or using a friend’s car. But authorities say it’s still one of the best tools for reducing impaired driving.
Said Jeremy Gunderson, communications coordinator for the Maryland Highway Safety Office: “Would you loan your car to someone knowing that they have ignition interlock on theirs and want to go out drinking in yours?”
– Emily Babay
