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Convicted NY Drunk Drivers Need Ignition Interlocks
pickens writes "Starting yesterday in New York state, anyone sentenced for felony or misdemeanor DWI, whether a first-time or repeat offender, will have to install an ignition interlock in any vehicle they own or operate. The interlock contains a breath-checking unit that keeps the car from starting if the offender's blood-alcohol level registers 0.025 or higher, a little less than one-third of the legal limit. 'The addition of ignition interlocks will save lives in New York state,' says State Probation Director Robert Maccarone, who led the team that wrote the regulation. 'It's been proven in other states. New Mexico realized a 37 percent reduction in DWI recidivism.' Whether that will be enough to persuade more people to take a cab or find a designated driver is unknown. 'It's one more thing to make people think, it may help — it may keep a few people from getting behind the wheel,' says Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh."
Are you being sarcastic? MADD wants ignition interlocks in all vehicles.
http://blog.owidefenselaw.com/?p=61
If you'd RTFA, you'd find out that the device is part of their "conditional discharge" (i.e. probation) (you'd also find an answer to your bankruptcy concern). Don't want to use the device because you feel it infringes too much on your personal liberties? Fine. Stay locked up.
I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
no you don't. RTFA. there are random restarts while you're driving. if you do start the car then drink, you'll be stranded in the middle of your ride.
weinersmith
To address some questions ... I'm sad to say but I dated a girl who had one of these and it really did destroy the relationship because she could only drive to work and home from work. I would have to drive out and pick her up since she had a restricted license after getting a DUI.
... where do we draw the line?
So to address people's questions: you have to make a sound with your voice as you blow and you have to blow strong while making that sound. I think it's calibrated to your voice so if you try a dust buster (not going to make the force needed) or your child you're not going to get your voice. The kid might work if you have enough time for them to try different ranges but it has to be a long continuous breath of full air.
To address the questions about drinking after you start the car, the system will beep loudly indicating you must blow into it again while you're driving or your vehicle will shut off. This happens once every 20-40 minutes.
To answer the questions about why it's 1/3 the legal limit, my (now ex) girlfriend had also been ordered by her program to not drink for a year. If you blow anything recognizable, it locks out you out of your vehicle and reports it. If you don't believe me look at how they keep track of starts. This isn't something for you to wonder if it's okay for you to drive or to test your friends with. She was warned by other friends with DUIs (that's DUI) that they will get you the morning after if you still have alcohol on your breath.
A month before she blew this, she was in the lowest range and then she blew right on the edge of this range that demanded this. I know there's a lot of people out there that have been negatively affected by drunk drivers but in most states the punishment really can be life destroying. I avoid it by using public transportation in DC when I drink but not everyone has that option.
I'm not against these things being used in serious cases. But your first offense with a DUI
My work here is dung.
I used to install ignition interlocks, so i'll try to answer your questions:
'Hacking' an interlock isn't very practical as they usually require unique hardware that would be a pain to duplicate.
Bypassing them is not at all difficult. I could easily do it in 20-30 seconds with a pair of scissors or side cutters. However the unit will know that you're driving without having taken a test, which is a huge black mark on your report.
Bypassing them and not getting caught on report day is orders of magnitude more difficult, because if your mileage doesn't match the expected test-rate you'll be flagged for inspection. And, at least when/where I installed them, we put tamper seals on pretty much every connection between car and interlock. Cut into anything, and we would know.
As for the test itself, it's not nearly as simple as "blow and drive". You have to take a full breath, seal your lips around the mouthpiece, hum, and exhale an entire breath quite rapidly. Air pumps (balloons, tires, etc) just won't cut it. It's something most people need to practice in order to perform reliably, and I witnessed many, many cases where people just could not get the hang of using the devices even months after install. Suffice to say it is not something a child would be able to perform regularly. A young teenager might be able to pull it off with some practice, if you're lucky enough to own, er, have one.
Also, temperature and humidity are not (as far as I know) measured as a part of the test. The devices I worked with actually had a small heating element inside the head unit in order to maintain a standard test temperature (which sucks in a cold winter). As for humidity, it was usually a bad thing (especially in colder climates) because it would interfere with the very small microphone inside. Air pressure and sound were the two most critical aspects of a successful test. Like Goldilocks, it had to be not too hard and not too soft, and the hum not too quiet and not too loud. Something most people can reproduce fairly often, but very very difficult to simultaneously recreate both elements mechanically.
So the TLDR version is this: The devices were not designed to be infallible, just secure enough to make cheating your way around them a bigger pain in the ass than calling a friend or a taxi. Circumventing them isn't really worth it, especially considering the penalty for getting caught was almost always taking a pair of scissors to your provisional drivers license, a monetary fine, and boot out the door. YMMV.
Perhaps you should have read the article, where it says that the interlock, "must stay hooked up for the duration of the offender’s conditional discharge or probation — anywhere from six months to five years, depending on the sentence."
It's not a "lifelong punitive impediment." It's a condition of your probation, and it ends after a set amount of time. I think that's pretty sensible - since it allows you to keep driving, which means you can keep working and have a life, but you just can't drive while drunk.