Wednesday, May 12, 2004
I was driving, but I didn't exhale.
Ignition interlock devices. Pass a breathalyzer test or your car won't start. Good idea or bad?
If you have been convicted of drunk driving many states now require that you have an ignition interlock installed in your car. Most people would concur that this is a reasonable measure and a pretty decent idea.
But what about using this as a preventative measure? Install these devices in call cars. If you are drunk you don't drive. Why should we allow completely preventable accidents to continue?
In New Mexico Democratic state Rep. Ken Martinez introduced a bill that would have made them mandatory in all vehicles there by 2009. It may not have made it through the Senate but it did pass in the House with a vote of 45-22. The phrase "California emissions" keeps flashing through my head at the thought of any state passing a law like this.
I certainly wouldn't object to being required to "blow" before I go. I won't drive if I have been drinking. I have always been very hardline with myself on this. I have ingrained it so deeply on my psyche that even when my judgment is impaired by being drunk I don't consider it an option. (If I have been drinking I will ride with someone who has been drinking, which is just as bad though.)
I have been a bartender and realize that I am unusual in this respect. The vast majority will drive after a couple of drinks. Many will drive when questionable and a smaller, but large enough, group will drive when they definitely shouldn't.
Preventative devices could almost eliminate the possibility. Not everyone will agree that this is a good thing. People will argue that this violates rights or that this is punishing people for a crime they haven't committed.
Piffle I say. Driving is a privilege. They don't let me drive without my glasses. Blind people aren't allowed to drive at all. You have to pass a test and be issued a license to legally drive. Why is that any different than taking an blood alcohol level pop quiz every time you drive? - Molliwogg
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