SACRAMENTO, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- California's Assembly voted
56-0 to approve a pilot program requiring ignition-locking devices
in all vehicles of owners convicted of drunken driving.
The bill -- now before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has
not decided whether to sign it -- requires a driver to blow into a
device before starting the car.
The car will not start if the interlock equipment detects
any alcohol on the driver's breath -- even from as little as one
drink.
The pilot program, involving four counties, including Los
Angeles, would start next July and run until 2016, at which time it
could become statewide law.
It has the support of the California Highway Patrol, Mothers
Against Drunk Driving and numerous safety organizations.
It is opposed by the American Beverage Institute, which
wants the legislation limited to drivers with more than one
conviction, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported.
Of the 4,000 people killed each year on California roads,
more than 25 percent are killed by drunken drivers, the newspaper
said.
More than 200,000 motorists are convicted each year of
driving under the influence in the state, and some 50,000 have prior
convictions for exceeding the state's blood-alcohol limit of 0.08,
the newspaper said.