Doctors, Lawmakers & Madd Push For Ignition-control Device

Mothers and medical experts gathered at an East Bay trauma center Friday to advocate for a bill that they say could save thousands of lives and help put an end to drunk driving. The proposed legislation would require people convicted of a DUI to have a breathalyzer installed in their vehicle to test blood alcohol content before they can turn on the ignition. Current state law leaves it up to judges to decide if the technology should be installed in a convicted drunk driver’s car. State legislators, trauma doctors and representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving gathered at a news conference outside the John Muir Medical Center emergency department in Walnut Creek to push for the legislation’s passage. The bill, SB1046, would expand on a pilot program launched in 2010 that requires drunk driving offenders to use car breathalyzers, known as ignition interlocks, in four counties: According to data gathered by MADD, ignition interlocks have prevented nearly 150,000 attempts at drunk driving since the pilot program began.