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24 J.L. & Health 217 (2011)
Off the Roads & out of the Courts: Enter a Technology Fix for Drunk Driving

handle is hein.journals/jlah24 and id is 221 raw text is: OFF THE ROADS & OUT OF THE COURTS: ENTER A TECHNOLOGY FIX FOR DRUNK DRIVING NORA J. PASMAN-GREEN 1. INTRODUCTION - COULD THERE BE A Fix?.......................... 217 II. How BIG IS THE PROBLEM ................................................... 219 III. How WELL IS THE Fix WORKING? ...................................... 225 IV. PROGRESS TOWARD A PERMANENT Fix............................... 242 V . A CAUTIONARY TALE.......................................................... 247 V I. IN THE M EANTIM E ............................................................... 254 1. INTRODUCTION - COULD THERE BE A Fix? If the statistics are accurate, then like many people in America, I know someone who has been convicted of drunk driving.' When this young man (and yes, most convicted drunk driving offenders are men2) was sentenced, a condition of his probation was that he had to install an alcohol ignition interlock device (AIID) on his car. For as long as he was on probation, his car would not start until this machine certified that he had not been drinking. I wished he would be on probation for the rest of his life. Perhaps I am nafve. AIiDs were news to me. But, once I learned how these devices worked, and how they will work in the future, its implications were astounding. AIIDs, it seems, have the potential to virtually eliminate drunk driving liability, both criminal and civil. Even more important, AIDs could rid the road of drunk drivers who turn their automobiles into deadly weapons. After all, drunk driving is not simply a criminal violation; drunk driving has become a major public health problem. Why, I wondered, isn't this thing standard equipment on all vehicles? It turns out that I was way behind the curve on these questions, too. For years, scholars, scientists, policymakers, and public advocacy groups have been exploring and debating whether AIIDs would effectively prevent someone from driving drunk.' AIDs measure blood alcohol content (BAC), which is the underlying scientific evidence of driving impairment.4 Indeed, the technology supporting AIDs has steadily improved. Progress toward a consensus that identifies Professor of Law. Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Gabrielle Paschall. research assistant. See infra notes 18, 30 & accompanying text for specific statistics on drunk driving arrests and convictions. 2 Women accounted for 18.8 percent of all DUI arrests in 2007 (a thirty percent increase from the preceding decade). U.S Dep't of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States, 2007, Table 33, NHTSA.Gov, http://www.tbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data/table 33.html (last visited Sept. 8, 2011). See infra notes 65. 66, 114. 4 BAC as evidence of impairment has withstood legal challenges. See infra note 42. 217

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