TERRE HAUTE — Alcohol-related traffic fatalities stayed within a range of three percentage points over 10 years in Illinois, but state officials hope new technology can help bring those down.
Effective Jan. 1, Illinois joined five other states in providing those arrested for their first offense of driving while intoxicated with a device allowing them to drive while on a restricted permit, but preventing them from doing so after drinking.
The Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) is a mechanism installed into the automobile’s ignition system which requires the driver to provide a breath sample prior to starting and at random intervals throughout the travel time, according to information provided the Illinois Secretary of State’s Web site.
The BAIID prevents the vehicle from starting if the blood alcohol content of the driver’s breath is .05 percent or higher.
Lt. Scott Compton of the Illinois State Police said the agency is just now wrapping up DUI numbers for 2008, but provisional statistics show the impact of driving while impaired is in the five digits.
The ISP alone made about 12,027 arrests for driving while intoxicated in 2008, counted 298 alcohol-related accidents and 310 fatalities, Compton said.
Those numbers, he said, represent the state police’s work alone and are still being tabulated.
“Certainly we in law enforcement feel that this new and innovative approach will reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes and therefore alcohol-related fatalities,” Scott said.
The program is administered through the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, and spokeswoman Nancy Behymer explained that first-time offenders can “opt into” the program through the court.
Anyone arrested for driving while intoxicated in Illinois faces “30 days hard time,” she said, describing that as a period without any chance to drive.
But upon acceptance into the BAIID program, individuals are allowed a 14-day grace period to drive to one of the state’s installation sites, administered by six companies in 53 counties. After the BAIID is installed, participants can drive on a restricted permit while serving their sentence.
Offenders are not required to participate in the program, but those who don’t will have no other option for driving while under the suspension.
According to Behymer, individuals arrested for DUI who refused to submit to a breath-alcohol test will probably be under the supervisory suspension for 12 months, double the six months for those who submit and fail.
Studies have shown that BAIIDs reduce subsequent DUI offenses by up to 90 percent, according to statistics on the program’s Web site.
Individuals in the program found driving a vehicle without the BAIID will be charged with a Class 4 felony, and those who chose to not participate in the BAIID program face similar charges if caught driving while suspended.
The program is user-funded, according to information provided by Behymer.
An installation fee of $100, an $80 per month device rental and a $30 per month monitoring fee are all charged to the participant.
An “indigency fund” has been set up for offenders who cannot afford the fees, with money coming from a surcharge added to paying offenders’ installation and rental fees, according to the state’s Web site.
In addition to Illinois, Alaska, Colorado, Nebraska and Washington state began BAIID programs Jan. 1, with South Carolina creating a similar program for repeat offenders.
The states’ program launch came in part from a nationwide Mothers Against Drunk Driving campaign aimed at mandating locks for anyone convicted of DUI, citing statistics which show most offenders are repeat offenders.
According to a study published in November, more than 2 million Americans have three or more drunk driving convictions on their record.
The study, done by MADD in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cited 20,000 individuals in New Jersey alone with three or more convictions and noted one individual with 16.
New Mexico became the first state to mandate the devices in 2005 and since then has seen drunk-driving deaths fall 20 percent, according to MADD.
In opposition to the new devices however, the Washington D.C.-based American Beverage Institute, a trade association representing restaurants and retailers, said the machines don’t allow judges to make distinctions amongst offenders.
According to ABI managing director Sarah Longwell, the group backs interlock laws targeting repeat offenders and those arrested with high blood-alcohol levels, but not necessarily those arrested just over the 0.08 blood-alcohol legal limit.
“We want sensible alcohol policies,” she said. “We want 10 people to be able to come in and have one drink and not one person to come in and have 10.”
Current interlock laws could lead to more draconian measures, she argued.
“We foresee a country in which you’re no longer able to have a glass of wine, drink a beer at a ball game or enjoy a champagne toast at a wedding,” she said. “There will be a de facto zero tolerance policy imposed on people by their cars.”
Longwell contends that MADD puts too much emphasis on links between alcohol and traffic deaths, giving too little regard to the roles excessive speed and driver cell-phone use in deadly accidents.
In the meantime, BAIIDs provide a roadblock to those seeking to drive while intoxicated, and speaking on behalf of the ISP, Compton said he “is certainly in favor.”
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
The Associated Press contributed to the article.
• For more information on the BAIID Program, visit
www.cyberdrive
illinois.com/
departments
BAIID/home.html
Illinois Traffic
Fatalities - 1995 to 2005
Percent of traffic fatalities related to alcohol
1995 – 44%
1996 – 46%
1997 – 43%
1998 – 44%
1999 – 44%
2000 – 44%
2001 – 44%
2002 – 46%
2003 – 44%
2004 – 45%
2005 – 43%
Source: National Traffic Safety Administration - Illinois State Traffic Safety System
Illinois Traffic Fatalities - 1995 to 2005
Number of traffic fatalities related to alcohol
1995 – 700
1996 – 678
1997 – 597
1998 – 619
1999 – 646
2000 – 628
2001 – 623
2002 – 653
2003 – 639
2004 – 613
2005 – 580
Source: National Traffic Safety Administration-Illinois State Traffic Safety System
DUI drinks
Approximate number of drinks leading to a BAC of .08.
100 lbs. – 2 drinks (.065) 3 drinks (.097)
140 lbs. – 3 drinks (.069) 3 drinks (.092)
180 lbs. – 4 drinks (.072) 5 drinks (.09)
200 lbs. – 5 drinks (.08)
220 lbs. – 5 drinks (.073) 6 drinks (.088)
240 lbs. – 6 drinks (.081)
* One drink equals 1 oz. 86 proof liquor, 3 oz. wine or 12 oz. beer.
Source: Illinois State Police
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