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As of July 2004, 75,000 IID's were installed in the United States as a result of 42 states passing and implementing some form of enabling or mandated requirement for certain DUI/DWI offenders to install and maintain an ignition interlock device as a condition of license reinstatement or probation after a drunk driving conviction.
Ninety-five percent (95%) of the interlock devices installed were in twenty-one states with the State of Texas being the largest at approximately 12,500. Most of these states with notable and sustainable IID programs came about primarily as a result of Congress passing the TEA-21 Transportation Restoration Act in June of 1998.
Each State shall require as a minimum penalty, that an individual convicted of a second or subsequent offense for driving while intoxicated, (DWI) or driving under the influence (DUI) after a previous conviction for that offense shall:
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- Receive a driver's license suspension for not less than 1 year
- Be subject to the impoundment or immobilization of each of the individual's motor vehicles or the installation of an ignition interlock system on each of the motor vehicles
- Receive an assessment of the individual's degree of abuse of alcohol and treatment as appropriate
- Receive for 2nd offense, not less than 30 days community service or 5 days of imprisonment; and for a 3rd and subsequent offense, not less than 60 days community service or 10 days of imprisonment
- Failure to enact such provision will result in 1 and percent of the funds apportioned to the State under paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of Section 104 (b) will be transferred to the State's 402 apportionment beginning on October 1, 2000 and increasing to 3 percent on October 1, 2002
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While many more than twenty-one states passed laws to come into compliance with Section 164 and sought to expand their use of ignition interlock programs, there were notable implementation and rule issues and barriers to interlocks effective use. Those were and are:
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- The one year license suspension must be a hard suspension with no restricted driving even if an interlock is installed
- The interlock should be installed after the revocation period and must be installed on each vehicle the offender owns not operates, which creates a big loophole by transferring title to vehicles
- No allowance for an employer exempted vehicle
- Courts were required to order the installation of the device and Judges exercised their discretion not to
- Administrative licensing authorities were not given specific authorization to carry-out and impose the IID mandate if the courts failed to act
- Many of the statutes passed only created an interlock restriction period which expired, allowing the repeat offender to simply "sit-out" a longer suspension period
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The TEA-21 Highway Transit bill is currently up for re-authorization in Congress. As of June 1, 2004, two versions have passed and sit in Conference committee. An extensive lobbying effort by LifeSafer has resulted in several amendments being added to both the House and Senate versions.
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On the Senate side; Section 164 would allow the one year hard suspension to be reduced to 90 days with an interlock restriction required for the remainder of the license suspension and such restriction would be tied to the Driver's license not the vehicle.
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On the House side; Section 164 would do the same as the Senate version except to allow the hard suspension to be reduced to 45 days versus the 90 days contemplated by the Senate. Also, the House version would also allow for the Interlock restriction under Section 164 to become a qualifying criteria for the largest Highway Safety Block Grant under Section 410.
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Once signed into law, the new Federal minimum penalties for repeat DUI/DWI offenders will not only have some incentive for voluntary participation but will also make sense for the States and Courts to impose in drunk driving sanctioning.
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No state with an existing mandatory IID state law and viable interlock program complies with all three requirements stated above.
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