All drunken drivers in Wisconsin would get interlock devices on their cars under bill

MADISON - All drunken drivers in Wisconsin would be required to place ignition interlock devices on their cars under legislation introduced by Milwaukee Democrats. 

Right now, a first-time drunken driver would have to be caught at nearly twice the legal limit before he or she would have to have one of the devices placed on their car. 

But under the draft legislation by three Democrats from Milwaukee — Sen. Chris Larson and Reps. Jonathan Brostoff and Christine Sinicki — all first-time offenders would be required to install the devices and, before driving, blow into them to prove they aren't drinking.

Larson told the story of a friend and classmate at Thomas More High School who was killed by a drunken driver on Christmas Eve in 1998. 

"It was a devastating blow to each of her friends and everyone who knew her. It was a horrible, preventable tragedy and something that shaped each of our lives going forward," Larson said in a statement. 

The deaths on Wisconsin roads haven't stopped.

Last year, the state saw 193 deaths related to drunken driving and Wisconsin remains one of the highest in the nation in binge drinking and intoxicated driving rates. The state is also the only one in the nation in which first-time drunken driving is classified as a municipal violation, like a parking ticket, rather than a crime. 

In 2009, the then Democratic Legislature and Gov. Jim Doyle passed a series of laws to toughen penalties for intoxicated drivers. Republicans have also increased some penalties since taking control of the statehouse in 2011.

The 2009 legislation included a requirement that a driver install an ignition interlock device after being stopped with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 or higher. In Wisconsin, a level of 0.08 is considered evidence of intoxication.

The cost of the interlock devices is picked up by the offenders, who pay private companies $75 to $150 to have them installed and then $60 to $90 per month while using them. Low-income offenders can get a discount through an industry program. 

The latest bill would use the same approach. 

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reviewed 15 scientific studies of ignition interlock devices and found their use reduced offenders' repeat drunken driving by 67%.