Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - In a move aimed at curbing repeat offenders, a Saratoga area New York State lawmaker is pushing for first time DWI offenders to be required to install ignition interlock devices, a breathalyzer, instead of having the option to give up the vehicle.
"We know that the ignition interlock devices save lives," says Assemblymember Carrie Woerner. She notes New York has a very low compliance rate with the use of the ignition interlocks. In part, she says, is because right now, first time offenders have the option to dispose of their vehicle instead. Woerner calls it a loophole her bill is trying to close. "It's a common sense approach to say, everybody who is convicted of a DWI, should have the interlock device installed for a period of time, depending on the seriousness of the of the crime, then be compliant for a period of time, and then they can have it uninstalled," explains Woerner.
Woerner says it's a way to reduce the cost of DWI legal process as well. "The fees and penalties that the individual who's been convicted has to pay the bill reduce ... if they are using the ignition interlock and are compliant over a period of months," says Woerner.
John Sullivan of Erie County STOP-DWI says New York currently has a two-tier system for mandatory installation of ignition interlock systems. "Driving while intoxicated is the misdemeanor crime. driving while impaired is not a crime, it's a violation and does not carry that mandatory installation. This new law would put that in place for people that are convicted of driving while impaired," says Sullivan.
Sullivan says if someone who needs an ignition interlock gets a new car after giving up the one he or she had, "There's a vehicle DMV check, and the court is notified that the person who said at the time of sentencing they did not have a vehicle that they've acquired one, and then the judge can bring them back before ... the court and have them installed," says Sullivan. Erie County STOP DWI monitors these checks.
Woerner says the ignition interlocks have prevented 126,000 drunk driving crashes.
