FACT SHEET

Ignition Interlock - Impaired Driving

October 2007

Drinking driver crashes killed 252 Washington residents last year.

• In 2006, 252 Washington residents died in collisions involving a drinking driver. This accounts for 40 percent of the total 632 traffic fatalities for 2006. [WTSC, FARS]

• Drinking driver crashes claimed 3,753 lives in Washington between 1993 and 2006. [WTSC, FARS]

Washington has tough sanctions for people convicted of DUI.

• In 2006, over 42,804 people were charged with DUI. [AOC]

• A DUI conviction means license suspension, ignition interlock, and jail and/or electronic home monitoring. The court can order alcohol treatment. Fines, fees, loss of work time, lawyer costs, insurance rate increases make a DUI very expensive. [RCW 46.61.5055]

• As of July 1, 2007, some individuals arrested for DUI could face felony charges if they have four previous DUI offenses within a 10 year period, which would carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. [RCW 46.61.5055(13)]

Some offenders with suspended licenses continue to drive.

• Nationally, it is estimated that 75 percent of drivers with suspended or revoked licenses continue to driver and that one in every five fatal crashes involves at least one driver who is not properly licensed. [Target Zero]

• In Washington, between 2001 and 2005, 18 percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes were not properly licensed (meaning they were unlicensed or had a suspended or revoked, expired, canceled or denied license). [Target Zero]

• In 2005, 123 drivers involved in fatal crashes were not properly licensed. Forty-six percent of those drivers had previously recorded license suspensions or revocations. [Target Zero]

• Nationally, one-third of all drunk drivers arrested had been previously convicted of drunk driving. [MADD]

Ignition interlocks reduce recidivism.

• An alcohol ignition interlock is a device that prevents a car from starting if alcohol is detected. Currently, most of these devices require the driver to blow into a mouthpiece to check for the presence of alcohol. [MADD]

• In Washington, only 18 percent of DUI offenders who installed an ignition interlock had a subsequent conviction for an alcohol-related offense, while over 80 percent of those drivers who did not get an interlock device installed have a subsequent alcohol-related offense. [DOL, 2005-2007 data]

• Studies on ignition interlock effectiveness in North Carolina, New Mexico, West Virginia, Maryland, Alberta, Colorado, Illinois, and Quebec show a decrease in recidivism of 50 to 90 percent while alcohol ignition interlocks are on the offender’s vehicle. [MADD]

Future technology could reduce drunk driver fatalities

• Car manufacturers are developing other kinds of ignition interlock devices that could detect the presence of alcohol through the skin, in the air or by monitoring eye movements. These types of devices are called passive ignition interlock and if such devices became standard equipment on automobiles, it is estimated that they could reduce drinking driver fatalities by half which in Washington would save over 100 lives a year! [MADD]

• One component of MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving promotes exploration of emerging, cutting-edge technology designed to separate drunk drivers from their vehicles. Such advanced interlock devices could become transparent to law abiding drivers, but prevent anyone with a BAC of .08 or higher from being able to operate the vehicle. [MADD]

Washington’s Ignition Interlock Program

• Interlocks are required for all alcohol-related DUI convictions regardless of BAC. [RCW 46.20.720]

• Interlocks are required as a condition of deferred prosecution. [RCW 46.20.720]

• Proof of interlock installation is required before a temporary restricted license* can be issued. [RCW 46.61.522]

• Proof of Interlocks installation is required before DOL will lift a license suspension. [RCW 46.20.720]

• Interlock restrictions last for a period of time based on the previous number of times a person has been required to have an ignition interlock, as follows: one year for a person with no previous interlock restrictions; five years for a person who was previously restricted once; and ten years for a person who had more than one previous restriction. [RCW 46.20.720]

• Installation of the ignition interlock is not required until the driver is eligible to get their license back. For example, an offender with one prior DUI would lose their license for two years (or three years with BAC level at .15 or above). Therefore, that person would not be required to install an ignition interlock for two years (or possibly three years) after their conviction. [RCW 46.20.720]

• A DUI offender can wait out the interlock restriction requirement period before applying to have their license suspension lifted. For example, if a driver’s license was suspended for 90 days for a first DUI conviction and the driver was required to have one year of an interlock restricted license, he or she could wait for one year and three months before applying to have the license suspension lifted. [RCW 46.20.720]

• A driver with an interlock restricted license is required to install the device on any vehicles owned and operated by the driver. This applies to motorcycles, commercial vehicles and rental cars. It does not apply to vehicles owned by a driver’s employer, unless the driver has a temporary restricted license. [RCW 46.20.720]

• The ignition interlock requirement is clearly marked on the Washington Driver’s License and the driving record for easy access by law enforcement and court personnel. [DOL]

*A temporary restricted license can be issued to a convicted DUI offender or to a person who had their license administratively suspended under the implied consent law after 30 days of hard license suspension. The temporary restricted license allow a person to drive only to work, school, health care or treatment appointments, AAA meetings, and in a few other narrowly defined situations. Proof of installing an ignition interlock is required before such a license may be issued. [RCW 46.20.391]

WTSC | Washington Traffic Safety Commission
FARS | Fatality Analysis Reporting System
AOC | Administrative Office of the Courts
RCW Revised Code of Washington
Target Zero | Washington State’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan
MADD | Mothers Against Drunk Driving
DOL | Washington Department of Licensing