New Drunk Driving Law Now In Effect

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First-time DUI offenders will have to install ignition interlock devices, like this one shown, in order to start their car following a new state law Dec. 1.
Photo courtesy Smart Start

New Jersey just took another step in combatting drunk driving.

As of Dec. 1, any first-time or repeat drunk driving offenders will be required to install ignition interlock devices (IIDs), or breathalyzers, in their vehicles. Once installed, drivers must blow into the device to start their vehicle. If their detected blood alcohol content (BAC) is above the legal limit – 0.08 percent – their vehicle will not start.

Devices will remain installed from three months to a year, depending on the case.

Traditionally, one penalty for driving while intoxicated has been to suspend the offender’s driver’s license. But that puts the person “on a slippery slope,” said Christopher R. Brown, senior associate at Drazin and Warshaw P.C. law firm in Red Bank, as the person might choose to drive without a license to get to work. If caught, offenders can lose their license for additional time or end up in jail.

“If they’re alcoholics or they’re going to drink or drive anyway, they’re going to do it whether or not they are suspended,” Brown said. “This will benefit people who make a mistake a single time and will then have the opportunity to correct it.”

The firm handles a varying number of DUI cases each year; it can be as many as two dozen or as few as five or six. In general, Brown has seen a decrease in the number of cases over the years. “In my experience, most people don’t ever do it again. They tend to go in the other direction,” he said, and they don’t run the risk of experiencing it again.

The state has required any repeat drunk drivers and drivers with high BACs – 0.15 percent or more – to install IIDs in their vehicles since 2001. However, it was not mandatory for first-time offenders until this month.

For the first offense, DUI offenders must pay fines and face brief periods of detainment. Those who register BACs between 0.08 to 0.10 percent will face a $250 to $400 fine and anyone with BACs of 0.10 percent or more will face $300 to $500 fines. They must also forfeit their driver’s license until the IIDs are installed in their vehicles. If the offender fails to install an IID, their license can be suspended for 18 months.

Anyone charged with driving under the influence of narcotics, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drugs will be subject to fines of $300 to $500, a brief period of detainment and must forfeit their right to drive over state highways for seven months to a year.

Steven Benvenisti, who serves on the New Jersey board of directors of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), led the effort in New Jersey to bring this law to life. He said there was “a deadly gap in the law” prior to its enactment. Drunk driving laws are important to him. He was a senior student at The College of New Jersey on spring break when he was struck by a vehicle operated by a drunk driver and spent weeks in the hospital in critical care.

The legislation cites a national study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The number of drivers in fatal crashes with high BACs was reduced by 16 percent in states with IID laws as opposed to states without them. Fatal crashes were also reduced by 3 percent when IIDs were required for repeat offenders and by 8 percent when required for first-time and repeat offenders, it states. It also cites that IIDs have prevented over 73,740 attempts to drive with BACs over the legal limit over the past 11 years.

Candice Lightner, founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and We Save Lives, told The Two River Times that she opposes one-sanction solutions to drunk driving. “Personally, I don’t like mandatory IIDs on first-time offenders if it excludes all other sanctions,” she said, “because I believe there are a number of other things you can do as well that can be just as effective.”

Although she called IIDs “the greatest thing since sliced bread” and said no sanction is 100 percent effective, the problem with them is that they can be overcome. “Not everybody uses and follows them,” said Lightner. She said she would support IIDs in vehicles for anyone arrested with a BAC of 0.16 percent or more. But if it’s a lower BAC, she feels that judges should have other options to look at like vehicle impoundment or license suspension.

“We don’t support any one solution to the drunk driving problem. We feel there’s a myriad of things you can do, and that probably the biggest issue is enforcement,” she said. She noted that there aren’t enough police officers to arrest drunk drivers or to test for drugged drivers. “They’re not doing drug tests to determine if there are drugs involved. So, these people aren’t getting prosecuted.”

Offenders are responsible for the costs associated with the IIDs. According to MADD, a leased interlock device costs the offender about $3 a day or about $275 for three months. Local auto installers say it costs anywhere from free to $200 to install any of the dozen interlock devices approved by the state, depending on the type of car.

Under current law there are programs available for those who are unable to afford the devices. The indigent program, for example, is paid for by interlock vendors so that “all residents have access to the device,” according to the new law.

Gov. Phil Murphy enacted the legislation in August. He said in a statement the expansion of IIDs is “just common sense.”

“We must deter drunk driving without negatively impacting individuals’ ability to take care of themselves or their families. License suspensions are an imperfect tool for accomplishing both aims, as they do not stop drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel and they can prevent ex-offenders from supporting their livelihoods.”