A DUI driver during a field sobriety test in Newtown earlier this year.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
A new state law will require motorist who get a DUI with a blood alcohol level more than .10 to get an ignition interlock system installed in their vehicle.
The legislation was signed into law earlier this week by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf after passing the two legislative bodies in Harrisburg.
“Drunk driving is a deadly crime that puts Pennsylvania families at risk and this legislation will help prevent people from driving drunk and endangering themselves and putting other lives at risk,” Wolf said in a statement. “We owe it to both motorists and pedestrians to keep them safe and hold people who break DUI laws accountable.”
The new law will go into effect in 15 months and require first-time offenders convicted of DUI with a blood alcohol level more than .10 to have an ignition interlock installed in their vehicle for a period of one year.
The ignition interlock device forces driver’s to blow into a reader that takes count of their blood-alcohol level. If the reading shows the sample is at an unsafe level, the vehicle will not be able to start.
“States that have similar laws clearly show the implementation of ignition interlocks for first-time offenders significantly reduce drunk-driving fatalities,” said Republican State Sen. John Rafferty, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and supported the bill.
Across the state, about 10,500 DUI-related crashes were reported in 2014 with 333 deaths reported, according to PennDOT data.
