A NEW TYPE OF DISTRACTED DRIVING: DUI INTERLOCK SYSTEMS

Author: Ashlee Taylor, Associate Editor

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about thirty-seven people die every day from car crashes involving a drunk driver. [i] These deaths are completely preventable, and the market has responded with the solution of DUI interlock systems. A DUI interlock system, also commonly called “ignition interlock device,” is a breathalyzer that is connected to a vehicle’s ignition system. [ii] A vehicle that contains such device requires the driver to blow into the breathalyzer in order for the car to start. [iii] The idea behind this is to ensure that the driver of the vehicle is sober. [iv] There is also the possibility that a user may begin drinking while driving, which is why an interlock system will commonly have a user blow into the device while the operator of the car is driving. This is where an issue arises – does the act of blowing into an interlock system, while the car is in motion, constitute distracted driving?

Distracted driving includes anything that takes the driver’s attention away from driving. [v] A common and well-known type of distracted driving is texting while driving. The NHTSA has categorized distracted driving into three categories of distractions: visual, manual, and cognitive. [vi] Visual distractions are all distractions that force the driver to take their eyes of the road; manual distractions are those that force the driver to take their hands off the wheel; and cognitive distractions are those that force the driver take their mind of off driving. [vii] In 2021, distracted driving killed roughly 3,522 people. [viii] Unfortunately, when a DUI interlock system forces the driver to use the breathalyzer while driving, it arguably constitutes all three distractions.

When the interlock device request that the driver stop and blow into it, these are commonly called “rolling tests.” [ix] These tests take place approximately five to thirty minutes after the car has been started. [x] During a rolling test, the driver must lift a hand off of the wheel, pick up the device, and blow into it for several seconds. [xi] If the driver fails to comply with this protocol, the vehicle “goes into panic mode.” [xii] This “panic mode” includes the headlights flashing and the horn honking, which continues until the engine is turned off. [xiii] Since the driver has to look away from the road, take a hand off the wheel, and divert their attention from driving, this constitutes a visual, manual, and cognitive distraction. Thus, these rolling tests are a type of distracted driving. The next question then becomes whether the costs of these systems outweigh the benefits.

One of the issues that arises is the accuracy of the interlock system. [xiv] For example, there are things besides alcohol that can cause a person’s blood alcohol percentage to read incorrectly on such devices. [xv] Toothpaste, mints, mouthwash, and sugary snacks like doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, and chocolate are all substances that can cause an inaccurate reading. [xvi] In addition, the fumes of alcohol, glue paint, paint remover, and cleaning fluids can have the same effect when the fumes are inhaled. [xvii] Other factors also play a role in accuracy detection, such as diet and temperature. [xviii] At the end of the day, it is clear that these devices are not accurate. Second, it is commonly the users of these devices that have to foot the cost. [xix] This includes paying for an installation fee, a removal fee, and a monthly fee (all of these ranging from fifty to a hundred and fifty dollars). [xx] In Kentucky, there are a few for-profit companies that are approved to provide these services (LowCost Interlock, Lifesafer, Smart Start, an Intoxalock). [xxi]

While these are two negative factors of DUI interlock systems, they do not take away from positive data. Pennsylvania began requiring all people convicted with a drunk-driving charge to use an ignition interlock, reducing its “alcohol-involved crash deaths” by fifteen percent when compared to states without this requirement. [xxii] In a randomized and controlled trial, there was a sixty-five percent reduction in re-arrest for DUIs within the group that was required to use the ignition interlock system. [xxiii] This data shows that DUI interlock systems do maintain the goal of reducing intoxicated driving.

In conclusion, while DUI interlock systems are costly to users and rolling tests would constitute distracted driving, the benefits of DUI-related death reduction and the reduction in re-arrest outweigh the costs. DUI interlock systems pose risk, but reduce other risks on a greater scale.

[i] Drunk Driving, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving (last visited 7/31/2023).

[ii] John McCurley, Ignition Interlock Devices: Costs and Requirements, NOLO, https://dui.drivinglaws.org/interlock.php. (last visited 7/31/2023).

[iii] Id.

[iv] Id.  

[v] Distracted Driving, National Highway Traffic Administration, https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving#:~:text=Distracted%20driving%20is%20any%20activity,the%20task%20of%20safe%20driving (last visited 7/31/2023).

[vi] Distracted Driving, Kentucky Safety Facts, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Office of Highway Safety,

https://transportation.ky.gov/HighwaySafety/Documents/Distracted.pdf. (last visited 7/31/2023).

[vii] Id.

[viii] Nat’l Highway Traffic Admin, supra note v.

[ix] How the Ignition Interlock Device Works, Ignition Interlock Device.ORG, http://www.ignitioninterlockdevice.org/ignitioninterlockdevice.html (last visited 7/31/2023).

[x] Id.

[xi] Stacy Cowley & Jessica Silver-Greenberg, The Unforeseen Dangers of a Device That Curbs Drunken Diving, The New York Times (Nov. 10, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/business/drunk-driving-interlock-crash.html. (last visited 7/31/2023).

[xii] Id.

[xiii] Id.

[xiv] David J. Hanson, Accuracy of Ignition Interlock Devices (IIDS): The Truth, Alcohol Problems and Solutions, https://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/accuracy-of-ignition-interlock-devices-iids/ (last visited 7/31/2023).

[xv] See id.

[xvi] Cowley, supra note xi.

[xvii] Hanson, supra note xiv.

[xviii] Id.

[xix] McCurley, supra note ii.

[xx] Id.

[xxi] Kentucky Ignition Interlock Program (KIIP), KY.gov, https://drive.ky.gov/Drivers/Pages/KIIP.aspx (last visited 7/31/2023).

[xxii] Elinore J. Jaufman & Douglas J. Wiebe, Impact of State Ignition Interlock Laws on Alcohol- Involved Crash Deaths in the United States, National Library of Medicine (March 17, 2016),  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26985604/.

[xxiii] J H Coben & G L Larkin, Effectiveness of ignition interlock devices in reducing drunk driving recidivism, National Library of Medicine (Jan. 16, 1999),  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9921390/.