Repeat DUI offenders must pass breath test to drive

Courtesy of GreenvilleOnline.com

Steve Sumner Comments - "More fees on the way..."

Starting this week, repeat DUI offenders will have to blow into a device about the size of a calculator to start their cars as part of the state's broader effort to crack down on drunk driving.

The ignition interlock device will measure blood-alcohol content and won't allow the car to start if it's over .02.

"We believe it's going to reduce the number of deaths due to drunk driving," said Juliet Nader Smith, spokesperson for the state chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

About 500 drivers could participate in the program this year, said Pete O'Boyle, spokesman for the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

Offenders will have to pay $70 for installation and a monthly monitoring fee of $90 to have the device on their cars. They will be eligible to get the device after serving suspensions.

While the program is voluntary and accompanied by treatment, drivers who opt out will have their driving privileges suspended for three years beyond the original suspension period.

Greenville defense attorney Steve Sumner said the cost -- more than $1,000 a year -- will be the biggest factor for many offenders.

"That is a lot of money for people, if they want to drive," Sumner said.

An indigent driver fund will be set up to help those who can't pay. The money will come from a $30 cut of the monthly monitoring fee paid by other offenders.

The 2007 law that requires the devices put them into effect Jan. 1. But the state Department of Motor Vehicles was closed for New Year's Day, so Friday was the first day offenders were eligible to get the devices.

The ignition interlock program comes on top of a new law that takes effect Feb. 10 and will increase penalties for high blood-alcohol concentrations.

Drivers will have to get the device's data download every 60 days and reviewed by the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

Those who repeatedly fail to do so or try to start their cars with a blood-alcohol content of .02 or higher could face suspension. The legal driving limit for others in the state is .08.

The program applies to vehicles that the offender owns or routinely operates -- but not vehicles owned by their employers and used solely for work, Sumner said.

The length of the time drivers have to use the device varies from two years to life, depending on the number of convictions.

It is illegal for offenders to have someone else to blow into the device.