Orange County DUI Lawyer Blog
The Orange County Register is reporting that the California assembly wants drunk drivers to install ignition locking devices on their vehicles to prevent drunk driving tragedies. A proposed law would require anyone convicted of DUI to have to blow into a device installed in their vehicle in order for the ignition to start. If the driver has a blood alcohol level over the legal limit of .08, the car will not start.
About 50 to 75 percent of convicted drunken drivers whose licenses have been suspended continue to drive, experts say. And, according to some reports, ignition-locking devices reduce repeat offenses by 64 percent. However, opponents of the law–including the Criminal Justice Association and the California DUI Lawyers Association–think that the ignition device would be ineffective in deterring DUIs and that the law has the potential of the punishing the wrong type of DUI offender. For example, opponents say that the social drinker who goes out to dinner and splits a bottle of wine, not feeling the effects of the alcohol when they get into their car would be targeted by the device the same way a chronic drinker would be targeted.
The Drink Wheel calculates what a person’s potential BAC level is depending on how much was consumed, the time period of consumption and taking into account the person’s gender and weight. The Drink Wheel can be found here.
Comments about this post can be directed to Orange County DUI attorney William Weinberg at (714) 834-1400.