Many drivers who cause fatal drunk driving accidents end up having more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in their blood stream. The legal blood alcohol content for drivers is .08% and most commonly the drivers responsible end up testing with 0.16% BAC levels or higher. 2010 statistics show that nearly 70% of all fatal car crashes involve a drunk driver with a .15%. People are getting seriously inebriated and then get behind the wheel and put everyone else’s lives in danger. It is becoming more evident that ignition-interlock devices would be beneficial to help save lives out there on the road. These devices make it so the driver must blow into a breath detector before starting the vehicle. Then if their levels are above the legal limit, the car will not start.
In the state of Minnesota, ignition-interlock systems are now mandatory for all DWI repeat offenders who had a BAC level of 0.16%. At the beginning of 2012 a national law was then passed promising to give each state more highway money if they were not establish the ignition-interlock laws for convicted repeat DWI offenders. Seventeen states have already put this law into effect for first time offenders as a requirement for them to gain back their driving privileges.
If only everyone chose to practice safe driving habits and stay below the .08 legal limit. They have estimated that if that was the case, at least 7,000 lives would be saved every year! In 2010 alone, 10,228 people across the U.S. were killed in alcohol-related car crashes, this means that someone in the United States died every 51 minutes. These are somber statistics but hopefully these Ignition-Interlock devices will stop drunk drivers from ever getting on the road and prevent thousands of drunk driving car accidents nationwide.
A DWI/DUI conviction comes with serious and lasting consequences in the state of Minnesota and your driving privileges will be at stake. If you are facing charges of this nature then it is essential that you contact a criminal defense attorney from the Martin Law Offices as soon as possible.