Drunken driver ignition lock bill set for vote

NorthJersey.com ^ | January 11, 2010 | BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI

[Eric Blair 2084]

New Jersey lawmakers planned to take up legislation today that would make ignition interlocks mandatory for anyone convicted of drunken driving.

"We need to send a message loud and clear to both habitual and would-be drunk drivers: the party's over," said Assemblyman Nelson Albano, D-Cape May, who is among the bill's sponsors.

Albano's son was killed in 2001 by a repeat drunken driver.

If approved, the measures (A-3073/S-1926) scheduled to be voted on today in the Assembly and Senate would require convicted drunken drivers to install the interlock device in any vehicle they principally own.

The requirement also would apply to anyone convicted of refusing to take a Breathalyzer test.

The lock is a Breathalyzer-like device that keeps the vehicle from starting if it senses an alcohol level that exceeds the legal limit.

Eleven states have passed laws since 2005 requiring the locks for all or some first-time offenders, but New Jersey currently requires the locks only for repeat offenders and imposes driver's license suspensions on those convicted of drunken driving. That penalty would be retained if the measure becomes law, and locks would be required during any period of license suspension.

"We owe it to every law-abiding driver to do everything in our power to keep drunk drivers off our roadways," said Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, D-Bergen, another of the bill's primary sponsors. "Requiring mandatory interlocks will go a long way toward improving the safety of good drivers and the public."

Critics of the bill say it's unfair to punish a first-time offender who registers barely over the legal limit the same as a three-time DUI offender whose blood-alcohol content is far over the legal threshold. They say it should include exemptions for such first-time offenders.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Somehow I’m reminded of the old Sam Kinison skit railing against drunk drivers, than the guy gets killed by a drunk driver after going through rehab.

I dunno.

Just remember that MADD has to do something to keep the grant money and donations rolling in.

[Eric Blair 2084]

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[Domandred]

Just remember that MADD has to do something to keep the grant money and donations rolling in.

Push legal BAC down .02 points. Catch more people. Then they can say "look! Drunk driving rates are going up!"

Surprised they haven't done it already...er wait...

[chiefqc]

They better look at this carefully or at least make arrangements for their transportation home from ?Nights on the town".

[Still Thinking]

The stupid skank ho that runs the outfit is arguing for increased use of random checkpoints on the rationale that -- get this -- at current BAL thresholds you may not be able to notice any impairment in people's driving! [facepalm]

"Liberalism means never having to rethink your premises."

[Still Thinking]

That prick Bill Richardson wanted to make these mandatory on ALL cars in New Mexico, even for people who had NEVER had a DUI.

I'm not in favor of driving sloppy drunk, but with the ludicrous thresholds they have now, combined with abandoning the FST in favor of a numerical test, I think this might be a little extreme, especially for first offenders.

[Salvey]

A few years ago, a judge friend of mine, now deceased, found a defendant in a DWI case Not Guilty, based on the evidence fairly presented. Shortly thereafter, the midnight phone calls from the MADD gang started. He decided that, from then on, if there were even a scintilla of evidence upon which he could base an acquittal in DWI cases, he would do so - - and he did, G*d rest his soul.

[Still Thinking]

I hope his headstone has a fist with a raised middle finger and the caption “This Bud’s for you, MADD!”

[Still Thinking]

I like his style. Whenever anyone tries to buffalo me, I always do the opposite of what they want, even if I wouldn’t otherwise do so.

[Eric Blair 2084]

I could see this for someone convicted of driving drunk a second time or with a BAC higher than .20.

If you put every person who ever drove home from a wedding or office party with a a BAC of .08 in jail there would be nobody left to pay taxes or guard them in jail.

[Still Thinking]

Hmmm. You might be onto something. I believe Voltaire said something like “The only place for an honest man in a society that imprisons honest men is in prison”. Maybe we should go Cloward-Piven on them. Civil disobedience till they jail all of us and see how they think they’re going to feed us all.

[elkfersupper]

I have seen these things in use.

Incredibly dangerous and distracting.

Much more so than the .02 BAC DWI conviction that led to the court-mandated installation.

You cell-phone and texting ban advocates out there should take one of these things for a 3-day test drive and tell us what you think.

[libertarian27]

Just wait until the Feds put the BAC down to .05. Most countries are already at that limit. MADD is chomping at the bit for that level in the US.

With the ignition start only feature here, looks like the best thing to do is keep the car running while you go out to dinner or have a couple of drinks...

[Still Thinking]

With the ignition start only feature here, looks like the best thing to do is keep the car running while you go out to dinner or have a couple of drinks...

Or find out which two wires it connects to enable the starter. Or just take the control wire off the starter solenoid and start it with a quarter (or your ignition key). The one in my truck is conveniently located high up on the fender. I had to start the truck that way when my alarm was malfunctioning and people looked at me like I had two heads or something. I looked at them like they had the IQ of yogurt.

[DakotaRed]

I guess asking why the “repeat drink driver” was free is a useless question?

[Don W]

You called it, FRiend:

At first it was the cops’ discretion,
then it was (after consulting the AMA) 0.15%,
then it was politicized down to 0.10%,
and now it’s 0.08%.
Meanwhile, MADD is lobbying to get it down to 0.05%.

In Sweden, it’s ZERO! If you blow ANYTHING, you are a drunk driver.

We know where MADD wants to take us....

Join DAMM!

[octex]

The loon that started MADD lives here in the DFW area. She and her supporters are as radical as the Code Pink idiots.

To ALL... I have had past personal experience with the device, and would like to dispute some of the above postings that talk about how to bypass, etc.

Here, it’s called a Smart-Start. Must be breathed into and register a notch or two below the .08 limit here before the car can be started. While driving, about every 20 minutes an audible signal occurs, along with a blinking light. The driver then has about 30 seconds to breathe into the device and pass, and this will recur as long as the engine is running. ...(Therefore you can’t leave the car running while going to a restaurant, etc., unless you gulp down your food. Also, most newer cars will not allow you to lock the car if the key is in the ignition.)

Once a month, the driver has to go to the company that installed the device and it is hooked up to a computer to download all of the data of your starts and attempts to start. Such data is then given to the County Judge. Likewise, any disabling of the wiring results in immediate failure of the device and that info is provided to the Judge. Result may be the Graybar Hotel at the County.

Oh yes, the driver has to pay for the installation and then $25 a month for data download, as well.

Years ago, the device went bad and I couldn’t start my car. Had to have the car towed about 25 miles to the place where they tested it and replaced it, while documenting it properly for the Judge. Of course, their device failure cost me the tow fee plus a day of work.

Late one evening, upon leaving work after my employees in the office had gone, I couldn’t get the car to start. It was the last day before Christmas holidays and so everyone had brought in food that we grazed on all day (jalapeno poppers, sausage rolls, etc.). ....After trying for a half hour, I re-entered the building and called the place, explaining what was happening. The techie told me to drink some milk and wait about 30 minutes before trying again, explaining that SPICY FOODS cause false readings that will go above .08!! (That’s something for everyone to remember, whether you drink or not!!!) ....I ended up having to call a cab to go 10 miles to my house and another the next morning to go back for my car.

Sorry to be so wordy on this posting, but thought the first-hand account might be of benefit to some of you.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[CSM]

“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted and you create a nation of law-breakers.”

Quote by: Ayn Rand
(1905-1982) Author
Source: “Atlas Shrugged”, Part II, Chapter 3