Drunken driving prevention methods go high-tech
DMV empowered to order use of ignition interlock devices
| Sunday, Aug 16 2009 11:19 PM
Last Updated Sunday, Aug 16 2009 11:39 PM
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Cars are central to life in California, especially when it comes to holding down a job.
That’s why Bakersfield criminal defense attorney William E. Kavanaugh believes suspending someone’s driver’s license does little to prevent them from getting behind the wheel.
“Everyone knows a person with a suspended license is going to drive anyway,” said Kavanaugh, who specializes in DUI cases.
But when it comes to those with a record of drunken driving, some Kern County judges are taking a technological approach to prevent DUI violators from drinking and driving.
That technology is called the ignition interlock device, essentially a breathalyzer for cars. Drivers must blow into the device before starting the vehicle and usually must blow into it again at specific intervals.
If a driver has booze on his breath, the car will not start and he may lose his already restricted driving privileges.
The violator must cover the cost of installing and maintaining the device, adding hundreds of dollars to the cost of the DUI violation.
Use of the devices is at the discretion of the individual judge, Kavanaugh said.
But a new law that took effect on July 1 transfers the administration of mandatory ignition interlock device programs from the courts to the DMV. And more importantly, it grants the DMV the power to require drivers whose license has been suspended because of a DUI conviction to install a device in any vehicle they own or drive.
“That’s a good thing,” Kavanaugh said.
“You have to keep sending this message: Drinking and driving ruins lives,” he said.
“If it doesn’t kill you, it may kill someone else. It’s Russian roulette.”
