New push for ignition locking devices to go in DUI offender's cars

SAN MATEO, Calif. (KTVU) - There’s a renewed effort to stop DUI's on California roads. Senate Bill 61 (SB 61) would require convicted first-time DUI offenders to install Ignition Interlock Devices or IID’s in their cars. The device will test the drivers’ breath for alcohol before allowing the car to start.

On Monday, California lawmakers and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) held a press conference as MADD claimed more than one million incidents were prevented since 2010 thanks to pilot programs using the device.  

"It takes me four blows to get from Livermore to Sacramento and three blows to get from Livermore to Walnut Creek it’s not an inconvenience," says MADD National Board member Mary Klotzbach. 

She put an IID in her car to show how easy it is to use. Klotzbach knows firsthand the dangers that come with drinking and driving. In July of 2001, Klotzbach's oldest son Matt was killed by a drunk driver. 
Since then Klotzbach has worked hard to keep her son's memory alive, by joining MADD and by urging state lawmakers to pass SB 61.

"It's not a punishment, it’s prevention. If you put it in a medical paradigm, we give vaccines to prevent a disease. This is like a vaccine on a car," says Klotzbach.

"Every year in California 1,000 people are killed on the road because of drunk drivers and 20,000 more are injured and we want to stop that," says State Senator Jerry Hill. 

He says quite often first-time offenders have been behind the wheel at least 80 times before being caught.  Hill says right now 25 states require the device to be put into an offender’s vehicle. He goes on to say IID's have a proven track record of reducing DUI related deaths and injuries.

"They've been successful, Arizona New Mexico in reducing the number of deaths by 30 to 40 percent," says Hill.  The Senator will reintroduce the bill early next year with new information from MADD and the DMV.