Wisconsin residents like to drink: that shouldn't surprise anyone. However, the well-documented drinking culture in Wisconsin is creating a much larger problem: Wisconsinites are drinking and driving in dangerous numbers. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, those who drive above the legal limit of .08 comprise 41 percent of all fatal traffic accidents in Wisconsin, the third worst in the country.
The drunken driving debate is multifaceted and met with a number of criticisms. Arguments range from concerns regarding Wisconsin's lenient legislature, which doesn't charge a felony until the fifth offense, to the need for sobriety checkpoints in Wisconsin. The number of notable faults current in policy prove that Wisconsin direly needs to change policies sooner rather than later, and a recent proposal by state Rep. Tony Staskunas, D-West Allis - while not a silver bullet solving the problem altogether - will prove extremely useful in actively combating Wisconsin's problem.
Next year, Staskunas will present a bill to mandate the installation of ignition interlocks for first time offenders with a blood alcohol level above .16 and all repeat offenders. The proposal also aims to create a state department that funds and monitors the mandate. The interlock itself is essentially a Breathalyzer that prevents the driver from starting the car unless their blood alcohol level is below .02. This technology would prove extremely successful in keeping drunken drivers off the road entirely.
Furthermore, interlock technology is mandated by several states with very positive results. New Mexico, the first state to mandate installation of ignition interlocks for drunk drivers, reported a 30 percent decrease in repeat offenders and a 10 percent decrease in alcohol-related accidents and fatalities, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Wasted in Wisconsin"" series.
The main problem regarding interlock technology lies in low compliance rates and inability to enforce the technology. If Staskunas' proposal were to become an actual law, a $75 dollar surcharge for all drunk driving offenses would be used to fund a department that monitors offenders sentenced to install an interlock, thus eliminating both problems. The increased fine brought by the surcharge may even keep a few potential offenders off the road.
Wisconsin's drunken driving problem demands immediate attention. Mandating technology that effectively combats the problem with proven results is more than necessary. Mandating interlocks would prove a creative attempt to address a growing problem for Wisconsin by proactively preventing the behavior altogether. Several other states have already passed a similar mandate, and four more will pass it in 2009. When this bill is presented, Wisconsin lawmakers must follow suit and prove they're serious about curbing its drinking problem.
