How Ignition Interlock Devices Are Saving Lives

According to statistics, each day across the country, there are 28 people who are killed as a result of a drunk driver. This is a major problem. When 28 people are dying every single day due to the same completely avoidable issue, there needs to be some major changes. Laws are altered in the hopes that offenses will go down, and police officers remain vigilant in their patrols. But one major element that is helping to make a dent in those drunk driving occurrences is the growing use of ignition interlock devices.

What is an interlock device?

An interlock device is a system that is hooked up to your car’s ignition, requiring you to blow into a breathalyzer before you are able to start your vehicle. Depending on the levels that the device is set to, if alcohol is detected, your car will physically not start. The car breathalyzer system prevents drivers, especially those who have been known to drive under the influence in the past, from driving drunk and putting their own lives in danger, as well as the lives of those around them.

It has been found that these interlock devices significantly help to diminish the number of repeat offenses. In fact, those repeat offenses are reduced by a good 39% even after the device is removed from the vehicle, when stacked up next to those repeat drunk drivers who did not have a device installed in their vehicle at any point. It seems that the device does indeed help to create positive habits of avoiding alcohol when driving, or perhaps even avoiding alcohol altogether.

The future of safe roads

Currently, there are around 150,000 ignition interlock systems in vehicles across the United States, and that number continues to climb. Most often, these devices serve as that correctional tool that has been sought for those individuals who seem to have a difficult time refraining from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. And the ignition interlock companies that are producing these devices are making a difference! For every time an occasion of drunk driving is avoided, there are potentially multiple human lives that are spared from the horrors of the aftermath that a person driving drunk can too often bring.

When it doubt, give up your keys
Sometimes it can be difficult to assess one’s level of intoxication. More often than not, there are intoxicated individuals getting behind the wheel of a car because they honestly, in that moment, believe that they are in an acceptable state to drive. But that is the tricky part. Just because you might not be falling down drunk does not mean that you could do serious harm behind the wheel of a vehicle, with even just a couple of drinks in you, depending on your build, your tolerance, the drinks themselves, and a number of other factors. Better to be safe than sorry, and better to keep everyone on the road alive and well.