Arkansas Injury Lawyer Blog
People convicted of drunk driving should have ignition interlock devices installed on their cars to keep them from starting the automobile if they are intoxicated. Federal safety officials are now backing this car accident safety plan.
The National Transportation Safety Board said this DWI accident policy could be a major factor in preventing traffic collision deaths, especially wrecks caused by a wrong-way driver. About 60% of wrong-way accidents involve an intoxicated driver according to government officials.
An alcohol ignition interlock is a device that prevents the engine from starting until the driver breathes into a device that measures alcohol content to see if it is lower than prescribed limits. Unfortunately, the alcoholic beverage industry opposes a blanket requirement for first time offenders. Some in the industry support ignition interlocks for first-time convictions of people who posted a blood-alcohol content of .15 or higher.
Some good news also was announced by the government. Nationally, deaths in crashes involving drunk drivers dropped 2.5% in 2011, taking 9,878 lives, compared with 10,136 in 2010. Hopefully, the use of interlock devices will continue to bring number of traffic accident deaths and serious injuries caused by drunk drivers down as well. The Arkansas car accident lawyers at the Pfeifer Law Firm can help you and your family if you or a loved one is injured by a drunk driver.