Doctors, Lawmakers & MADD Push for Ignition-control Device
June 25--Mothers and medical experts gathered at an East Bay trauma center Friday to advocate for a bill that they say could save thousands of lives and help put an end to drunken driving.
The proposed legislation would require people convicted of driving under the influence to have breathalyzers installed in their vehicles to test blood alcohol content before they can turn on the ignition. Current state law leaves it up to judges to decide whether the technology should be installed in a convicted drunken driver's car.
State legislators, trauma doctors and representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving gathered at a news conference outside the John Muir Medical Center emergency department in Walnut Creek to support the legislation.
The bill, SB1046, would expand on a pilot program launched in 2010 that requires drunken-driving offenders to use car breathalyzers, known as ignition interlocks, in four counties: Los Angeles, Alameda, Sacramento and Tulare. According to data gathered by MADD, ignition interlocks have prevented nearly 150,000 attempts to drive while drunk since the pilot program began.
Advocates gathered with hope that they could prevent tragedies like the death of Scott Leister, a 21-year-old Castro Valley native who was a passenger in a car hit by a drunken driver in 2008. The car Leister was riding in was crossing the Bay Bridge after a Saturday night in San Francisco when a 22-year-old man crashed into the vehicle, sending both cars out of control, according to MADD. The driver's blood alcohol content was over twice the legal limit, MADD says.
Leister's mother Carol, a MADD board member, joined others whose lives have been shattered by drunken drivers and who support the bill.
Once installed, an ignition interlock requires drivers to blow into a breathalyzer before they can drive their vehicles. Once driving, the device requires the driver to breathe into the breathalyzer again three to seven minutes after starting to drive, and after that randomly every 35 to 45 minutes. Each breath is recorded by the device.
The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo. The Senate passed the measure unanimously on May 31, and the Assembly Transportation Committee will begin debating it next week.
"It's way overdue," said Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-San Ramon, who serves on the transportation committee. "It's technology that saves lives."
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley, state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, and Ken Meehan, the board chair of air ambulance provider Calstar, also spoke in support of the legislation.
"If you look at what happened with seat belts, if you look at what happened with helmet laws and motorcycles, (they) saved lives and reduced injuries," Meehan said. "This is just one more extension of that."
If the legislation passes, California will be the 29th state to pass a mandatory ignition interlock law.
Libby Rainey is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email lrainey@sfchronicle.com
Copyright 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle
