Maryland Governor Backs Ignition Lock for Drunk Drivers

February 22, 2010

  • February 22, 2010 at 11:14 am
    matt says:
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    Exam time!

    Will tacking another $1,500 in fees (installation and monthly rental of in-car breath machines) be more likely to:

    (A) Reduce likelihood of driving under the influence through threat of increased legal and financial penalty,

    (B) Increase revenue for the manufacturer of the in-car breath machine unit,

    (C) Increase likelihood of DWI offenders ignoring the mandate and driving a vehicle w/o the machine, without a valid drivers license,

    or

    D) Both (B) and (C)

    **the above comment is opinion only and not fact. It has not been reviewed by legal counsel, should not be taken seriously, and may have been written by senile chimpanzees on xanax. It is not sanctioned nor condoned by the Insurance Journal, and drunk driving is unquestionably bad.

  • February 22, 2010 at 12:13 pm
    John Martin says:
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    Matt,
    Your sarcastic criticism, and lack of a constructive alternative make you a very strong candidate for political office. Reach for that brass ring.

  • February 22, 2010 at 2:44 am
    Concerned says:
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    What happened to the 3 strikes and your out for Marylanders. Way to go O’Malley! It only takes once to kill someone and its a shame that we have seen several 2-time or more offenders walk in and out of here to purchase their insurance to drive. Just had one with a 7-time offender. hmmmm! I’m going with B!

  • February 22, 2010 at 3:10 am
    Bud says:
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    Why not just make driving illegal for everyone?

    It would solve the problem wouldn’t it?

  • February 22, 2010 at 5:13 am
    matt says:
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    Just to prove my unworthiness for political office here is a constructive alternative to ignition lock devices:

    — Raise BAC threshold for DWI to 1.16

    — DWI penalty is mandatory 180 days jail time on first offense plus a two-year suspension of license. No special deals or good behavior- 6 months prison on first offense. Any subsequent stop for driving without a license during the 2-year suspension results in another automatic 180 days jail time. Scale up penalties for 2nd DWI, and greatly scale up for 3rd.

    — Change DUI to BAC 1.11 to 1.16, and the penalty is a mandatory $2,500 fine funding a charity like St Jude or soup kitchen or food bank plus a mandatory 250 hours community service to be completed over a 12 month interval.

    We focus too much on minor offenses like 0.08 BAC while we let the real problems slip through cracks in the system. Let’s not sweat the small stuff, but let’s instead nail the real problem offenders to the wall. I don’t mind sharing the road with you if you had a glass of wine with dinner. I don’t want to share the road with the person who just finished off 750 mL of vodka.

  • February 23, 2010 at 9:45 am
    wudchuck says:
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    so, let’s really make this simple….

    dwi is automatic at any level… bac 0.01, reason: you can kill anyone at anytime. if we are going to be adamant about no texting or reading text msgs in the veh, why not no cellphones either while driving and not dwi’s… we need folks to pay attention to the road front and back, including the sides… we need to start making folks responsible for their actions and not try to trade it off to someone else or a company…

    our self-responsibility is becoming an issue. although putting in the interlock ignitions in, does not preclude that person using someone else’s vehicle and causing a similar action or an actual accident whereas someone is either hurt or killed. we just need to start revoking license and not even give it up for hardship for to/from work.

  • February 23, 2010 at 9:51 am
    Art says:
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    I dont want to live in wudcheck world where I can get arrested for eating a big mac in the car or for changing the radio station at the wrong time.

    You should not be put in jail for minor offenses. There is no proof that .01 impairs your ability to drive.

    Wudchuck go back to communist China, this is America you arsehole.

  • February 23, 2010 at 10:01 am
    wudchuck says:
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    that is the point i am trying to make… we try to make all these rules about being distracted from driving and yet, we allow our congressman and senators to continue to be in office and they can’t even maintain a budget, call ridiculous meetings that costs money when these businesses already are taking take of their own problems… these folks have allowed a bailout of companies when in fact they should have failed just as if congressional hall has failed by creating a national deficit and it continues to grow. they tic-tac a payraise in a bill w/o the knowledge of the public. we as the mainstrem of society are tired of things that are not done for the PEOPLE of AMERICA! afterall, why was it right for congress to hold meetings about steroid use? it was not a national crisis or disaster. it did not affect everyone in the US! we can then turn around and put lawyers on the chopping block for taking more money in their pocket than those they represent. so where do we start?

  • February 23, 2010 at 10:13 am
    Concerned says:
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    Guess we should go to jail for having kids in the car next??? Shifting could be a distraction too so lets make all veh’s automatics? UGH! where does it end? they’re all distractions and while DWI kills, so does looking around, texting, eating, putting on make-up, reading newspapers and books, drying hair, shaving, reaching for drinks, talking on the phone, blah, blah, blah! 270 and 495 are crazy roads let alone adding just 1 minor thing to the mix. THEY ALL KILL so start walking!!!!



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