In our view Jan. 12: Targeting DUI

It’s a simple procedure, but it could save lives. The driver blows into a device. If it records alcohol on the breath, the car won’t start. It’s the alcohol ignition interlock. While it has been around for years, a new state law expands its use in cases involving drunken driving arrests. A recent story by The Columbian’s John Branton reports a new state law allows drivers arrested on DUI charges to immediately apply for the device. In the past, judges sometimes ordered use of the interlock, but only after conviction.

Application to use the mechanism, which comes with a $100 fee and costs about $75 per month, is made through the state Department of Licensing. “We hope this will get drunk drivers off the road, No. 1,” Licensing spokeswoman Selena Davis told Branton. “And we hope it will reduce the number of people driving illegally while their license is suspended.”

The new law is a welcome advance that could benefit many stakeholders. Eight states, including Washington, have the interlock system built into their drunken driving laws. Others are New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Alaska and Colorado. The reason is clear: Alcohol was a factor in about 40 percent of fatal traffic accidents in Washington in 2007, according to Steve Lind, deputy director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. In 2007, the state recorded 571 traffic fatalities.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving supports use of the ignition interlock “as an additional penalty and sanction for drunk driving offenders.” MADD goes beyond the Washington law in declaring, “use of such devices should be in addition to normal sanctions such as fines, license sanctions and jail sentences.”

Lind, the state Traffic Safety Commission official, also said: “We don’t want to keep people from driving. We just want to keep them from drinking and driving.” But is that too soft a response against those who drink and drive? Examined nationally, drunken driving is a massive problem. Teaming with the Governors Highway Safety Association and International Chiefs of Police, MADD backed a national crackdown on drunken driving this past holiday season. The group advocated protection of the public from “more than 2 million drunk drivers with three or more convictions and 400,000 with five or more convictions.”

Perhaps the answer is to wait and see how well Washington’s program works. Backers of the new law point out it’s far less a penalty than automatic license suspension, which was a past result of a DUI arrest prior to conviction. In the new plan, those charged with violations may continue to drive to work and handle everyday routines such as making doctor appointments and driving children to school. In the past, the license suspension was sometimes imposed on drivers who were later acquitted.

Before the new law took effect, it was well known that some DUI offenders continued driving their vehicles after arrest, hoping the law would not catch up with them. Those who drive without the interlock face an increased penalty, said Lind. He also pointed out convicted drivers who can afford it will pay an extra $20 a month “to help indigent drivers get a license” for the device. Drivers with interlocks can waive license-suspension hearings and some may simply plead guilty, a savings to taxpayers.

If this law removes drunken drivers from the roads, then it will serve a good purpose. If not, tighter restrictions and penalties will be needed.