• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Monitech Ignition Interlock Systems

Monitech Ignition Interlock

North Carolina's leading Ignition Interlock provider

  • Interlock Basics
    • What is an Interlock
    • Interlock Cost
    • Special Offers
    • Interlock Videos
  • Locations
    • Service Centers
  • Partners
    • Refer A Client
    • Attorneys
    • Counselors
  • Customer Support
    • Contact Monitech Ignition Interlock
    • About
    • Refer A Friend
    • FAQs
    • Reviews
    • Mechanic Code Request
    • Blog
  • 800-521-4246

Ignition Interlocks for All North Carolina DWI Offenders – Is It Time?

July 25, 2017 by Editorial Staff

It began in the mid-2000s. Nevada and Arizona started something that is still sweeping the country. They mandated ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenses, including first offenses.

An ignition interlock, or car breathalyzer, prevents a vehicle from starting if the driver has been drinking.

Other states had been adopting the device since the 1990s to keep convicted drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel, but the device was seen as a last resort, appropriate for serial offenders. Perceptive legislators in Arizona and Nevada realized that mandating the device for all offenders would bring down alcohol-related fatality rates, and they were right. In some cases the rates plummeted.

Other state legislators took notice, and today 30 states have made the devices available for any convicted drunk driver. The devices allow the offender to regain driving privileges without the risk of letting a drunk driver on the road.

North Carolina is among the states that has not yet hopped on board. Ignition interlocks are only required for multiple DWI offenders, or first offenders who are found to have a very high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) – .15 or greater. While it’s important that multiple offenders and “super-drunk” drivers have an ignition interlock installed, the 30 states that require the interlock device for every DWI offender have it right.

North Carolina DWI Laws Need to Change

The roads and streets of North Carolina would be safer if the North Carolina DWI law specified:

  • Mandatory ignition interlock for all DWI offenders with a BAC of .08 or greater
  • The interlock device should be available upon arrest – in other words, before trial.
  • An indigent fund should exist to help pay for interlocks for those who cannot pay themselves
  • There should be compliance-based removal: the device is not removed unless the offender has passed a given amount of time (we propose 4 months) without a failed test. This ensures that he or she is able to drive responsibly.

There is no cure-all for drunk driving, but there are strategies that have been proven to save lives, and an all-offender ignition interlock law is among the best. Citizens who value public safety in North Carolina should let their legislators know that they want their state to join the national trend that is taking drunk drivers off the roads.

Category: General InformationTag: Ignition Interlock, North Carolina

About Editorial Staff

The editorial staff is a group of writers and contributors with wide-ranging areas of expertise. The editorial staff provides news and analysis of topics that are focused on community and driver safety.

Previous Post: « Will Kombucha Give You an Alternative, Probiotic DUI?
Next Post: Appalled at Repeat DUI Offenders, MADD Wants Ignition Interlocks »

Free First Month

Call a North Carolina expert now at 800-521-4246 to claim your Free First Month!

Call Today
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Call Toll-Free

800-521-4246

Interlock Basics

What Is An Interlock

Interlock Cost

Interlock Videos

Locations

Service Centers

Partners

Refer A Client

Attorneys

Counselors

Customer Support

About

Refer A Friend

FAQs

Reviews

Mechanic Code Request

Blog

News

Copyright © 2023 Monitech, LLC.

Customer Support · Contact · ISO Certification