WI tops list for drunk drivers stopped by ignition interlock devices
WISCONSIN - According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Wisconsin led the nation in 2016 for the most drunk driving incidents prevented due to ignition interlock device use.
According to the report, exactly 37,299 Wisconsin drivers couldn't start their cars while drunk after blowing into their ignition interlock devices.
That may sound like good news, but it also signals how intoxicated driving is plaguing the Badger State.
California came in second place, with a total of 35,756 stops, but the state is seven times larger in population size than Wisconsin.
While many drivers convicted of OWIs are ordered by judges to have ignition interlock devices installed on their cars, some drivers don't install them, or wait a long time to do so.
A larger problem is the loophole that is hard to close: drivers who do have ignition interlock devices on their cars might borrow someone else's car, or transfer a car title out of their name so it is no longer registered to them.
Representative Andre Jacque of De Pere wants to see tougher penalties imposed on drivers who try to cheat the system.
"Increase the penalties if somebody who has the ignition interlock restriction is trying to get around that, if they are switching vehicles out of their name, if they are driving friends' vehicles to get around the fact that they're not supposed to be on the road," Representative Jacque said.
Last year, Jacque tried to have legislation passed that would bring a current Nebraska OWI law to Wisconsin.
The bill did not pass during the last legislative session, but it would have allowed drivers who could have their licenses suspended for an OWI to instead request an ignition interlock device, so they can keep driving.
The bill to enact tougher penalties for those who do try to avoid using the ignition interlock device is in both the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate.