ignition interlock device - The Lowdown on Ignition Interlock Devices

2011-04-18T01:46:00.000Z

The breathalyzer is an ignition interlock used by the authorities for measuring the blood alcohol content (BAC) of a person. This device was originally designed by Smith & Wesson and were once large machines that cost thousands of dollars per unit. Police departments were the only ones with these devices and they were base units at the station which required them to bring subjects back to the station to be tested.

Today hundreds of ignition interlock device manufacturers make small, portable breathalyzer units that much more accurate and cost as little as $20 each. This enables law enforcement officers to give breathalyzer tests out in the field and the average person can easily purchase an interlock device for their own personal use.

In most states you are considered intoxicated if you drive while your BAC level is over 0.08%, however some states have the limit as high as 0.1%. For the average person it takes an hour to process one drink, so if you have 3 drinks putting you over the limit it will take approximately one hour to put you back into the 2 drink range and up to 3 hours to bring your BAC back down to 0.00%.

With regards to IID Los Angeles officials explains that alcohol affects different people in different ways. A person who drinks everyday may be able to function perfectly fine with a BAC of 0.1%, while another person of the exact same age, weight, size, and stomach composition who rarely drinks might be falling all over the place with a BAC of 0.1%. Your BAC level has absolutely nothing to do with your tolerance of alcohol. The BAC level was set to account for the average person, not the person with an insanely high tolerance who drinks a case a night and two on the weekends. So many people are totally shocked to realize how high their BAC is after just a few drinks. You must blow hard to get an accurate reading from a breathalyzer and this test actually measures the alcohol from air exhaled from deep within the lungs and not just from your mouth.

When you drink alcohol the mouth, throat, stomach, and intestines absorb alcohol into the bloodstream. When your blood passes through the lungs' air sacs, the alcohol moves across them as well, thus the concentration of alcohol in the breath is directly proportional to the concentration of it in the blood. The breath alcohol to blood alcohol ratio is 2,100:1. This means that every 1 ml of blood has the same amount of alcohol in it as 2,100 ml of exhaled breath. For additional information, visit www.lsinterlock.com to learn more.

Interlock Devices: Driving Under The Influence Of Good Habits

2011-03-24T03:05:00.000Z

Edhat Santa Barbara News recently reports of the Oxnard Police Department Traffic Unit conducting a multi-location sobriety and driver's license checkpoint. Officers screened drivers to not only check for drivers who had been drinking alcohol, but also drivers in violation of failing to install a court-ordered ignition interlock device in their vehicles. Under specific circumstance when a defendant is found to be guilty of driving under the influence, the judge will order him or her to install an ignition interlock device in the vehicle to prevent another incident of drunk driving.

Out of the 1004 motorists who passed through the checkpoint locations, officers conducted two DUI investigations with drivers who had been drinking alcohol. As these drivers were found to have alcohol levels below the legal limit of .08, no DUI arrests were made. One vehicle was towed from the checkpoint when it was found that the operator did not have her ignition device installed.

Among the citations issued to drivers for other violations, 37 were for various drivers' license violations at the checkpoint, 25 drivers were issued citations for driving without a valid driver's license and 2 drivers were cited for driving with a suspended driver's license. Seventeen vehicles were towed from the checkpoint. When a driver is required to install an ignition interlock device California law dictates that it must be present in the vehicle at all times. Failure to do so can result in a number of punitive consequences including fines and/or jail time.

The Oxnard Police Department plans on conducting several more DUI enforcement operations this year. These DUI operations are an effort to reduce the number of alcohol related crashes and to make our roadways and community safer. We also remind people that if they see an impaired driver to dial 911, as this is considered to be an emergency. These DUI enforcement operations are funded by grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Transportation Administration. For additional information on Los Angeles IID (ignition interlock devices), visit www.lsinterlock.com to learn more.

Ignition Interlock Devices Are Mandated More Frequently

2011-02-24T04:58:00.000Z

Approximately 11,000 people in the U.S. die each year as a result of drunk driving accidents. All across the country states are cracking down on drunk drivers. Eleven states require that a mandatory ignition interlock device be installed on the vehicle of any person convicted of driving while intoxicated, even first-time offenders. The states who currently have such laws in place are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oregon Utah, and Washington. More states are currently considering such legislation, including Texas, which, after California, has reported the highest amount of alcohol related fatalities. In California, first time offenders may be forced to get an ignition device if their blood alcohol content is above 0.15 percent - or double the legal limit.

Ignition interlock devices are installed on the dashboard of a convicted drunk driver. The driver must breathe into the device in order to start the car and the blood alcohol level must usually be between 0.02 percent and 0.04 percent. The driver must also periodically breathe into the device while driving, to ensure that another person doesn't breathe into the device to start the car and then let the intoxicated person drive away. If the driver fails to provide a sober breath sample, a car alarm will go off and will not stop until the car is turned off or a clean breath sample is recorded. Ignition interlock devices must be installed at the offender's expense and cost between $70 and $150. They are usually mandated for two to three years after the conviction.

In Los Angeles interlock devices are highly advocated by groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). According to MADD, simply suspending driving is ineffective, as driving is necessary for most people to get to work, or go to the grocery store, or doctors office. The inconvenience of not being able to drive generally outweighs the offender's fear of breaking the law, and 50 to 70 percent of drunk drivers with suspended licences are reported to drive anyway. With the use of an ignition interlock Los Angeles motor vehicle operators who have had drunk driving offenses are allowed to drive, so long as they prove they are sober enough to do so. While it is possible for a drunk driver to have someone else breathe into the device, or to borrow a car from someone without an ignition device installed, most states have strict penalties for anyone who helps a DUI offender in this way.