State Bill Would Require Ignition Interlock Device to be Placed in the Vehicles of All Drunken Driving Offenders

Monday, February 19th, 2024 -- 12:00 PM

(Evan Casey, Wisconsin Public Radio) A Wisconsin bill would require an ignition interlock device to be placed in the vehicle of all drunken driving offenders in the state.

According to Evan Casey with Wisconsin Public Radio, that device requires a driver to pass a breath alcohol test before their vehicle starts. The legislation’s sponsor, Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said it’s aimed at changing behavior for what he called a “toxic culture” of drinking and driving that exists across the state.

“It’s time that we do more to curb the culture of drinking and driving in Wisconsin, while mitigating fatalities, injuries and property loss caused by drunk drivers,” Larson said during a press conference in Milwaukee Thursday.

Current state law requires the device for people with two or more charges for operating while intoxicated, or OWI. It’s also mandatory for first-time offenders with a blood alcohol content above 0.15, according to an analysis from the Legislative Reference Bureau.

The bill expands the ignition interlock requirement to all OWI offenses that involve the use of alcohol. This isn’t the first time Larson has introduced a similar version of the bill. He’s introduced the measure every legislative session that he’s been in office since 2011, a total of seven times.

Larson said the measure has received some bipartisan support in the past, but with the Republican-controlled state Legislature, the bill has only gotten one hearing in the past 13 years.

The device would be in the vehicle for one year under Larson’s measure. The driver would also need to blow under a .02 during the breath alcohol test. Erin Payton, the regional executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, also spoke in favor of the bill Thursday.

Payton said since 2019, drunken driving deaths have increased 31 percent across the nation. In Wisconsin, over 7,500 crashes involved impaired drivers in 2022, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Those crashes led to 184 deaths and 3,556 injuries.

In 2022, nearly 23,000 individuals were convicted of an OWI offense in Wisconsin. From 2006 to 2022, the use of the ignition interlock devices have prevented over 410,000 drunken driving attempts in Wisconsin, according to data collected by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found the devices reduce repeat drunken driving by 67 percent.

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