There’s a lot going on in the world of Massachusetts drunk driving lately, and a few new bills have been proposed to stop drunk driving offenders and ensure safer roads for everyone in the state.

Out of all the bills, the one that’s generating the most interest is the Massachusetts ignition interlock bill. This bill has been on the agenda several times but it’s never passed, and now Representative Louis Kafka has brought it to the table again.

The bill proposes that anyone convicted of drunk driving for the first time would be required to use an ignition interlock device for six months. An ignition interlock – a device that tests your blood alcohol content (BAC) every time you start the car, would be required instead of a driver’s license suspension.

If passed, the new law would be a change from current ignition interlock laws designed to stop Massachusetts drunk driving. Right now, ignition interlocks are only required for offenders charged two or more times and who receive a hardship driver’s license.

Representative Kafka has made a passionate plea for ignition interlocks as a means for drunk drivers to continue to work, drive their families, and resume their lives after a Massachusetts drunk driving conviction, but the bill has a long road before it’s law.

A similar bill never made it out of the House Ways and Means Committee when it was proposed, and this bill is currently in front of the Transportation Committee and waiting for a hearing. Although it’s in limbo the good news is that organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and AAA are all testifying on behalf of it, so there’s a positive force pushing it forward.

This could be the year that Massachusetts focuses on public safety and puts a lock down on all drunk driving offenders. Let’s hope there’s good news coming from the state soon.

Anti-drunk driving advocates want a Massachusetts ignition interlock law, and they aren’t going to stop fighting until they manage to pass one. That’s why they are coming out in support of two proposed bills that could be presented in the 2016/2017 session.

Right now repeat offenders in Massachusetts are required to install an ignition interlock in any vehicle they drive, but only after they have obtained a hardship license after two or more drunk driving convictions. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in Massachusetts would like to see first time offenders be required to use the device too.

The new bill would require first-time offenders to install such devices as well.

Massachusetts wants a new ignition interlock law for good reason: the state, along with Idaho, are currently the only ones in the entire country without some sort of first offender law. When MADD released their report on drunk driving recently, they detailed how ignition interlocks have stopped over 31,000 offenders from driving drunk in the state.

It’s easy to imagine how many drunk drivers could be stopped if all offenders were required to install an ignition interlock, but the road to the governor’s desk hasn’t been easy in Massachusetts. This proposed law has been brought up several times before, most notably in 2015 when it died in the Ways and Means Committee.

One of the senators opposed to the bill has cited the issue of ignition interlock false positives as a reason first offenders should not be required to use the device, but false positives can be easily avoided. If you’ve just eaten something with yeasty, had juice or a fruity drink, drank anything with vinegar in it, or had an energy drink, you just need to wait fifteen minutes before you blow or wash out your mouth with water. Once you do, you should have no problem with false positives.

Let’s hope this is the year that an all offender Massachusetts ignition interlock law makes it to the Governor’s desk for a signature.

Thanks to the recent report on ignition interlocks from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), we all know that ignition interlocks are actively stopping millions of drunk drivers. The devices have prevented over 12.7 million people from driving when they are drunk, and 240,000 of those people live in Massachusetts alone. Now the state has brought a new bill asking for an all offender ignition interlock law, and if it passes, anyone who drinks and drives in Massachusetts or anywhere else in the state will be required to use an ignition interlock for a period of time.

In relation to other states, first offenders in Massachusetts receive fairly light sentences for operating under the influence (OUI). They may spend up to 30 months behind bars, pay anywhere from $500 to $5,000 in fines, and receive a one year driver’s license suspension, but first offenders for drinking and driving in Massachusetts are not required to install an ignition interlock.

The new SP 1895 bill would change all that. Instead of just requiring second or repeat offenders to install the device, all offenders would need to drive with an ignition interlock for a period of time. This bill builds on Melanie’s Law, passed in 2005 in honor of Melanie Powell, a 13-year-old girl who was walking to a birthday party and was struck and killed by a repeat OUI offender. Melanie’s Law requires any driver with 2 or more OUI convictions and who meets the eligibility for a hardship license to install the device. Any offender with 2 or more OUI convictions who is eligible for driver’s license reinstatement must also use the device for 2 years after their license is reinstated, even if he or she already had a hardship license.

Representatives from MADD and other supporters feel that SB 1895 will cut down the rate of drunk driving in Massachusetts more than Melanie’s Law alone. Let’s hope when the hearing takes place in April, Massachusetts will join 25 other states by adding an all offender ignition interlock law.