LANSING – State Representative Lee Gonzales (D-Flint Township) announced today that the Michigan House of Representatives passed a bipartisan plan that cracks down on extreme drunken drivers and aims to keep repeat offenders off the roads.
"This plan will help stop people who get excessively intoxicated from putting innocent lives at risk," Gonzales said. "These reckless individuals have no right to get behind the wheel of a car, and this plan provides an effective and innovative tool to stop that from happening. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support this bill and act now to make Michigan's roads safer."
The plan targets people who are arrested for extreme drunken driving with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of at least 0.15, which is nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08. The plan will keep extremely drunken drivers and repeat offenders off the roads by requiring them to have ignition interlock devices placed on their vehicles. Before starting the vehicle, a driver must blow into the device. If the driver's BAC is above the pre-set limit, the vehicle will not start. The plan also requires offenders who are convicted of high BAC violations to successfully complete a rehabilitation program.
According to MADD, 58 percent of alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 2001 involved drivers with a BAC of 0.15 or higher. These drivers are at least 382 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a sober driver.