Law On Motor Vehicle Ignition Interlock Device

SB 1274 provides that a person is guilty of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence (AGDUI) if the person is subject to an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) requirement and the person either:  (1) refuses to submit to a law enforcement officers request for a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) test, or (2) commits an Extreme Driving Under the Influence (EDUI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI) violation.

Current statute states that a person is guilty of Aggravated DUI if:  (1) the person commits any DUI while their driver’s license is suspended or revoked; (2) commits a third or subsequent DUI within a five year period; or (3) commits a DUI while a person under fifteen years of age is in the vehicle.

Unless operating an employer’s vehicle or in cases of substantial emergency, a person under an IID requirement is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle without a functioning IID in the vehicle.  The statute also prohibits tampering or circumvention of the IID by any person.  In addition, the statute prohibits any person from tampering or circumventing the IID unless the person is an authorized installer of the IID manufacturer.  The penalty for tampering or circumvention an IID by any person is a class one misdemeanor.

Laws 2005, Chapter 312 allows a person to obtain a special ignition interlock restricted driver’s license (IIDL) while the person’s Class D or Class G driving privilege is under suspension or revocation  for any of the following: (1) first offense for an implied consent (IC) violation; (2) first offense for AGDUI with a person under fifteen years of age in the vehicle; (3) first offense for a  violation of operating a motor vehicle while under twenty-one years of age with any spirituous liquor in the person’s body. 

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), all states have adopted some form of implied consent laws, which require a person pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving to submit to a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) test. Drivers who fail the test are charged with drunk driving; those who refuse the test have their license suspended. Refusal rates vary, but on average, close to one-third of drivers pulled over decline to be tested, since in most states, refusing the test results only in a suspended license.

Although the statute prescribes a class one misdemeanor for tampering or circumvention of an IID, the statute does not prescribe a higher level of DUI violation for a person who is subject to an IID restriction and is driving under the influence while in violation of the IID restriction.

TOP OF THE PAGE

Find a Drunk Driving Lawyer