In an effort to increase penalties for drunk driving nationwide, federal officials have indicated they will begin incentivizing states to pass legislation requiring ignition interlock devices for all DUI convictions, including first time offenders. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) official David L. Strickland told the Washington Post “We think that interlocks for first time offenders is the best overall policy,” and “We’re looking to get more states to pass these laws and getting more drunks off the road.” The NHTSA hopes to do so by mobilizing a budget of $20.8 million in highway safety funds as incentive for states to pass legislation.
Mandatory ignition interlocks have been a major talking point for many advocacy groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who point to federal statistics indicating that drivers involved in fatal crashes involving alcohol are four times as likely to have had a prior DUI conviction. NHTSA data also indicates that nearly a third of all highway fatalities involved alcohol, and 70% of those crashes involved a driver with a BAC nearly twice the legal limit.
Federal officials think increasing drunk driving penalties for first-time DUIs will have an aggregate deterrent effect, especially among male drivers aged 21 to 35, a demographic that Washington Regional Alcohol Program director Kurt G. Erickson says is “a group that’s proven to be resistant to run-of-the-mill campaigns.”
Currently, Florida law only requires an ignition interlock device to be installed in first time DUI cases where the driver’s BAC is found to be .15 or above, or if there is a minor traveling in the car. In cases where the driver has a BAC of .08-.15 and there is no minor in the car, an ignition interlock device installation is up to the discretion of the judge. Federal officials have not yet indicated if any of their designated incentive funds will be directed at the state of Florida.
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