Udall Sponsors Bill Mandating Ignition Device for Convicted Drunk Drivers

Sen. Tom Udall is using the Super Bowl to drum up interest in a bill he introduced today that would create a federal law mandating interlock ignition devices for convicted drunk drivers.

Udall, a Democrat, is teaming with Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., on the legislation. I wrote about the effort a year ago.

The ignition interlock – familiar to some New Mexico drivers who have been convicted of DWI – is an electronic breath testing
system connected to a vehicle that prevents the ignition from starting
if the driver’s blood alcohol content exceeds a pre-set limit.  Under
the Lautenberg-Udall proposal, states that decide not to use the
technology would lose a portion of their federal transportation
funding.

“Holidays
and special events trigger senseless drunk driving incidents that
can be stopped by implementing an aggressive ignition interlock penalty
program,” Udall said in a statement today. “New
Mexico was the first state to attack the epidemic of drunk driving with
this approach and the strategy has helped save lives. I believe
enacting it nationwide would have the same positive and resounding
effect.

According to Udall’s office, Super Bowl Sunday in 2009 was the second worst day of the year for drunk
driving fatalities, behind New Year’s Day.  That year, 65 people
throughout the country were killed because of drunk driving on Super
Bowl Sunday and into the early morning hours of the next day.

In announcing the bill, Udall’s office cited statistics
that show “50 to 75 percent of drunk drivers whose licenses are
suspended continue to drive.” A study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that
re-arrest rates decreased by 73 percent when an ignition interlock
device was installed, Udall’s office said.

From Udall’s press release: “The
Lautenberg-Udall bill mandates states to require an ignition interlock
for a minimum of six months for all drunk driving offenders.  States
that fail to comply with this mandate will face a reduction in federal
transportation funding if they do not change their laws by Fiscal Year
2014.  Currently,
eleven states have laws that require an ignition interlock for all
drunk driving offenders: Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, New
Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nebraska, Washington, New York, and Oregon.”