Ignition interlock devices are breathalyzers installed in vehicles to prevent drunk driving. The document summarizes drunk driving statistics and the effectiveness of ignition interlock laws in reducing drunk driving deaths. Over 50% of drunk driving deaths have been reduced since 1982, but it remains a significant public health issue. Mandatory ignition interlock laws for convicted drunk drivers have decreased alcohol-related fatalities by up to 50% in states like Arizona and West Virginia. Nationwide implementation is recommended to further reduce drunk driving deaths.

1. Ignition Interlock Devices
Stop Drunk Driving Deaths
By Floyd Arthur

2. Over the past two decades,
drunk driving deaths in the
United States have dropped
by

3. over 50 percent, from over
25,000 per year in 1982 to just
under 10,000 in 2014.

4. Nonetheless, drunk driving
is still a significant issue
nationwide. According to
U.S.

5. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention estimates,
drunk driving is behind one
in three

6. fatal car crashes in the United
States and costs the American
economy about $100 billion
each year.

7. Ignition Interlock Device
Drunk Driving Statistics

8. * In all 50 states and the
District of Columbia, “drunk
driving” (driving under the
influence

9. of alcohol) is defined as
operating a motor vehicle
with a blood alcohol level of
0.08 percent or above.

10. * Four out of five drunk
drivers are men.

11. * Younger people are at the
greatest risk of dying in an
alcohol-related car crash. Of
drunk

12. drivers killed in automobile
accidents in 2010, 33 percent
were between the the ages of
21 and 24.

13. Twenty-nine percent were
between 35 and 34, and 24
percent were between the
ages of 35 and 44.

14. * In 2013, 200 children
under the age of 15 died in an
alcohol-related car crash on
U.S.

15. roads. Over half of these
(121) were in the car with the
drunk driver when they were
killed. Another 29

16. were struck and killed by a
drunk driver while riding
their bicycles or crossing the
street.

17. * Most drunk drivers are
not caught. In 2012,
American adults reported
that they drove drunk 121

18. million times. A mere 1
percent, or 1.3 million
drivers, were arrested for
drunk or driving that same
year.

19. * About 30 percent of
drunk drivers are repeat
offenders. The average drunk
driver has

20. driven drunk about 80 times
before his first arrest. Drunk
drivers involved in fatal car

21. crashes are six times more
likely to have had a prior
arrest for DUI than those
who were not drunk.

22. Ignition Interlock Devices
and Drunk Driving

23. One of the latest and most
effective weapons in the war
against drunk driving is a
small,

24. cellphone-sized piece of
technology known as an
ignition interlock device.
Essentially a

25. breathalyzer that attaches to
the ignition switch of a car,
the device disables the
vehicle

26. if it detects a blood alcohol
level above a set limit --
typically 0.02.

27. According to Mothers
Against Drunk Driving, the
devices have stopped over
1.8 million

28. drunk driving incidents since
2006 and saved countless
lives. In Arizona, which
enacted

29. mandatory ignition
interlocks for all convicted
drunk-driving offenders in
2007,

30. alcohol-related fatalities have
decreased by 50 percent.
Drunk-driving deaths in
West

31. Virginia dropped 40 percent
after that state enacted a
similar law in 2008. Oregon,

32. Washington and Hawaii have
seen a reduction in drunk-
driving fatalities of between
25

33. and 33 percent since enacting
mandatory ignition-interlock
laws.

34. As of 2016, all 50 states
currently have some form of
ignition-interlock law in
place, and

35. twenty three states** require
mandatory ignition interlock
devices for all offenders.

36. Based on the success of
programs currently in place,
both MADD and the
National

37. Traffic Highway Safety
Administration have called
for states to enact laws
requiring

38. mandatory ignition interlock
devices for all offenders
nationwide.

39. At Carmoon Group, we
know that your family’s
safety is your No. 1 priority,
and we

40. support laws that keep drunk
drivers off the road.
However, we also know that
laws

41. alone don’t offer the kind of
comprehensive protections
you need -- the right kind of

42. insurance coverage is
essential as well.

43. We are available Monday
through Friday from 9 a.m. to
6 p.m., so give us a call at
516-

44. 292-3780 to schedule your
insurance review. Or if you
prefer, simply request a free

45. consultation online and we
will get back to you within
one business day.

46. Visit Carmoongroup.com
Today!