Nashville Automobile Accident Attorney Discusses Interlock Systems to Deter DUI Offenders
An intereting report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that DWI offenders pick interlocks systems over house arrest. Alcohol ignition interlocks are a proven tactic to reduce repeat offenses for driving while intoxicated (DWI), but given a choice most offenders don’t voluntarily put them in their vehicles. Even when installation is mandatory, some offenders may sidestep the requirement by agreeing not to drive at all or claiming not to have a vehicle.
When the alternative is house arrest, though, convicted DWI offenders pick interlocks 7 out of 10 times. This is the main finding of a Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation study of one New Mexico counties experience with interlocks. The study looks at Santa Fe, where four judges agreed to a 2-year pilot to sentence all DWI offenders, including first-timers, to home confinement via electronic monitoring as an alternative to interlocks if they claimed to have no car or no intention to drive. The aim was to boost DWI offenders’ use of interlocks.
At the time, the state required interlocks for all convicted multiple DWI offenders and first aggravated offenders (BACs of 0.16 percent or higher). Interlocks prevent alcohol-impaired drivers from starting their vehicles. Drivers blow into a breath-testing unit and must register a blood alcohol reading below a preset level, which is usually well under the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) threshold of 0.08 percent, in order to start the vehicle. If the reading exceeds the level, the engine won’t turn over.
Researchers compared Santa Fe’s installation rates between June 1, 2003, and May 31, 2005, with all other New Mexico counties. During this period, 70 percent of drivers convicted of DWI in Santa Fe installed interlocks, compared with 17 percent in other counties. The finding is in line with a 2002 study of a similar program in Hancock County, Indiana. The judges stopped using the house-arrest option in 2006 after a state court rejected this sanction. Santa Fe’s interlock installation rate fell 19 percentage points in the 2 years following the program’s termination. But installations rose in most other counties during the 2006-07 period after New Mexico began to require interlocks for all convicted DWI offenders, not just those committing an aggravated offense.
New Mexico’s results show that “motivating interlock installation by providing a less desirable alternative to the interlock can substantially increase the number of DWI offenders who install interlocks,” the authors note. Interlocks successfully reduce the risk that repeat offenders will commit further violations, a 1999 Institute study found. Interlock restrictions reduced the risk of committing an alcohol-related traffic violation within the first year following conviction by nearly 65 percent.
In May 2010, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed into law a tougher interlock law that requires the use of ignition interlock devices if the offender has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.15 percent or higher; is accompanied by a person under 18 years of age; or violates the present implied consent laws. The legislation also provides that those convicted of drunk driving with a BAC under 0.15 have the option to install an ignition interlock device instead of being geographically restricted by a court.
If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee auto accident caused by a drunk driver contact the experienced Nashville auto accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and take advantage of a free consultation to find out all you need to know about obtaining a full and complete financial receovery.









