A bill expanding the use of ignition interlock devices across Kentucky is moving to the Senate floor.
The measure gives all first-time drunk driving offenders the choice of opting to blow into the blood alcohol-detecting device for six months and still drive or have driving privileges suspended for nine months.
Lois Windhorst of Louisville founded Kentucky’s chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “West Virginia is a state that has an administrative ignition interlock. And comparing 2016, Kentucky had 175 impaired driving deaths. West Virginia had 65 with their program. It makes an impact,” said Windhorst.
Offenders would still bear the cost of installing the interlock and monthly fees. The bill also moves administration of the program out of the courts and into the State Department of Transportation. Although casting a yes vote in committee, Louisville Senator Perry Clark said speeding is another major cause of fatal crashes. He wondered why there is not technology to disrupt speeding cars.
Grayson Senator Robin Webb says technology is needed to address drugged driving. He said there are "people passing out with needles in their arms driving down the highway."
Drugs, he said, probably cause more deaths and more accidents than alcohol.
Fayette County Director of Prosecution Jason Rothrock expects the number of interlocks on vehicles to go up substantially. He said figures show 250 devices in use in the Lexington area. Rothrock told the committee that about 900 are in use statewide. There were more than 24,000 DUIs in Kentucky in 2017.
