Boston Globe editorial urges breathalyzer systems for first-time drunk drivers
An editorial in the paper calls for closing a loophole in “Melanie’s Law.’’
An editorial in Monday’s Boston Globe calls for Massachusetts lawmakers to pass legislation that would close a “loophole’’ in the Commonwealth’s drunk driving laws.
The editorial, “Close the loophole in ‘Melanie’s Law,’’’ urges officials on the Joint Committee on Transportation to pass a bill that would require motorists found guilty of drunk driving to get an ignition interlock device installed on their vehicles upon their first offense.
Ignition interlock devices are small devices about the size of a cell phone that are installed between the ignition and the starter. Once installed in a vehicle, they measure the driver’s breath for alcohol before allowing the engine to start.
If the device detects a driver has been drinking it will not allow the vehicle to start. Many devices require frequent retests while the engine is still running to ensure the driver has not consumed alcohol after passing the test or attempted to trick the device by asking a sober friend to breathe into the device instead.
Currently, Massachusetts law only requires repeat drunk driving offenders to get an ignition interlock devices installed. First-time offenders may see their licenses suspended for six months, instead, the Globe points out.
But according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 70 percent of offenders drive regardless of their suspended license.
The Globe editorial calls the ignition interlock requirement “a common-sense deterrent’’ that has managed to prevent fatalities and injuries related to drunk driving.
Read the full Globe editorial here.
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