Is this true?

[kenimpzoom]

If this is true, it cant be legal, can it? Talk about invasion of privacy!!!<br /><br />State Mulls Drunk Driving Locks on All Cars <br />Wed Feb 18, 9:06 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo! <br /> <br /><br />SANTA FE, N.M. (Reuters) - New Mexico is considering a law that would make all drivers exhale into an alcohol detection device in their cars before they could start the engine. <br /><br /> <br /><br />The New Mexico House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill to require an ignition lock that will prevent a car from starting if the driver fails a breath test. The bill is being debated this week in the state's Senate. <br /><br />New Mexico has one of the highest rates of fatalities caused by driving under the influence in the United States and the bill would mandate the ignition lock to be installed in all cars sold or registered in the state by 2009. <br /><br />One of the devices available now costs about $1,000. It works by requiring a driver to blow into a tube that detects the presence of alcohol. If no alcohol is detected, then the car's ignition unlocks. <br /><br />"It's not just about prosecuting criminals but stopping drunk driving before it starts," said Ken Martinez, a Democratic representative who sponsored the bill. <br /><br />Critics of the bill called the cost of the device prohibitive, adding the measure would penalize people who do not drink and drive by forcing them to buy an expensive gadget. <br /><br />According to advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving, New Mexico ranked fifth among U.S. states in the percentage of traffic fatalities caused by drunk drivers. <br /><br />"People called seat belts and air bags inconvenient at first but it's just an issue of getting used to it. I think in the long run it will save money and lives," Martinez said.

 

[gaugeguy]

Re: Is this true?

Heard about this a couple days ago. Wouldn't mind it, too many drunks behind the wheel.

 

[tylerin]

Re: Is this true?

Great idea, With 2 future drivers in the house, I wouldn't mind however much it cost. They've actually been talking about this for years. Than again I hope I never have to start my brother-in-laws car, his breath would scare a pitbull off a porkchop

 

[one more cast]

Re: Is this true?

ideas like this, IMHO ,are just an extra cost and will never work. There will be people at the bars blowing for you for $$ , or small air tanks for sale that will blow for you , and on and on. The people that come up with these lame brained ideas are the same type of people that think if you outlaw guns then crime will stop.. BULL

 

[gaugeguy]

Re: Is this true?

Sure, there are always ways to defeat a safety device. I say if you are stopped or get in an accident after cheating the device, mandatory 1 year in the clink.

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: Is this true?

agree with OMC, what a crock! i could see it for<br />people who had a prior conviction maybe as part<br />of getting lic. re-newed, but on every car?<br />where does it end? general public can't be trusted<br />to be responsible, so the govt needs to tell us<br />how to live our lives... and people are OK with<br />this? <br />(example)<br />you aren't smart enough to eat healthy, so we will<br />give you a card the supermarket will swipe and you<br />are only allowed to buy certain items. how does <br />that sound? want a big mac? sorry, your card won't<br />let you have one sir, would you like a salad instead?

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Is this true?

WAY, WAY, WAY too much government.

 

[ChrisMcLaughlin]

Re: Is this true?

Who the h*ll owns your car anyway??? The Government or you??? Until you prove yourself innocent are you guilty??? That is not how my country was founded.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Is this true?

I can't belive anyone would actually approve of this. Think about it... the state automatically believes all of you are drunks. You are being penalized for the actions of a few.<br /><br />It is the old "to be safe, you have to give up some freedoms". This is 100% a "Big Brother" thing.<br /><br />How bout this new proposal, all cars are fitted with black boxes that know your position and speed. If you are exceeding the speed limit for that known position, you automatically get a ticket. This technology exsists today!<br /><br />I say gimme a break, there is no way this could possibly help.<br /><br />I could easily override it. Just go to the bar and never turn off the car. Or start the car, open bottle and drink in the car. Or pay the kid down the street to provide a breath sample. STUPID!!!<br /><br />P.S. I too dont drive drunk and have a wife and two young kids, but I am not willing to give up my freedom, just for a minute reduction in the chance they wont be killed by a drunk.<br /><br />Ken

 

[ED21]

Re: Is this true?

Sounds like Monica L. may have a job opportunity.

 

[gaugeguy]

Re: Is this true?

Lose a child to drunk driving and I think your mind would be changed.<br /><br />You have the right to bear arms, you do not have the right to drive drunk and kill someone.<br /><br />How is it an invasion of privacy? It's not reporting you, it's not letting you start the car if you have too much to drink.

 

[boatingfool]

Re: Is this true?

They do this already in some states for people covicted of multiple DUIs.<br /><br />I personaly do not like this idea.<br /><br />I drink and drive way to much.

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: Is this true?

or maybe a chip installed in your brain and every<br />time you have a dirty thought you get zapped?

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Is this true?

OMG, and what if they put the same type of device on your boat because you had a beer or came back with more than your limit ???? <br /><br />This type of law could set the precedent for too many other similar laws, where would it end?

 

[gaugeguy]

Re: Is this true?

An alcohol-related motor vehicle crash kills someone every 30 minutes and nonfatally injures someone every two minutes (NHTSA 2003). <br /> <br />Each year, alcohol-related crashes in the United States cost about $51 billion (Blincoe et al. 2002).<br /> <br />Most drinking and driving episodes go undetected. In 2001, more than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics (FBI 2001). That’s slightly more than 1 percent of the 120 million self-reported episodes of alcohol–impaired driving among U.S. adults each year (Dellinger et al. 1999).<br /> <br />Rates have begun to rise after a decade of decline in alcohol-related fatal crashes. Since 1999, they have increased slightly by 4 percent to 10 percent for all age groups except for ages 16 to 17 years (Elder et al. 2002).<br /> <br />To further decrease alcohol-related fatal crashes, communities need to implement and enforce strategies that are known to be effective, such as sobriety checkpoints, 0.08% BAC laws, minimum legal drinking age laws, and "zero tolerance" laws for young drivers (Shults et al. 2001, Shults et al. 2002). <br /><br />I'm not into government controlling everything, I just think it's a good idea. I have driven after having too much to drink and something like that would maybe have stopped me from getting behind the wheel.

 

[one more cast]

Re: Is this true?

My brother was killed at age 17 (along with his friend) while driving or riding drunk(both were killed,both were drunk and both were seen driving that night). I know a person who has been stopped 4 times in 2 years for drinking and driving and nothing happens to this person. If you get a 2nd DUI before going to court for the first they combine them and them reduce them, fine you and let you go. I am totally fed up with laws that don't work.And most drunks don't ever buy NEW cars anyways.Laws are only for honest people.

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: Is this true?

source BBC news:<br />A new study says that obesity cost the United States $75 billion last year. <br />The study by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention found that more than half that amount -nearly $40 billion - came out of public taxes

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Is this true?

We don't need government in our lives anymore then what they are now. These cronies have nothing better to do then to sit at a desk bounce the eraser end on the desk and think up how they can screw the american public to justify there pay check. "AND DON"T TELL ME SAFTY" and that they are protecting us from our selves. Ted Kennedy is or was the biggest drunk in Massachusetts and you have people like him and others writing these laws. "God Bless America."<br /> <br />Are they going to put these test on ski mobiles???? 95% of all ski mobile crashes are booze related.<br />And I don't wear a seat belt and never will. Also the cost of insurance goes up regardless.<br /> Everybody have a good DAY !!!

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Is this true?

Sorry to hear that OMC. I lost a boyfriend and 3 other friends in an alcohol related accident when I was a teen. <br /><br />And I agree, all the laws in the world will never stop people from inflicting injury to themselves or others. Many people are unfit to govern themselves, but still does not give government the right.

 

[gaugeguy]

Re: Is this true?

Being obese isn't against the law and it's not going to kill anyone but yourself. Having bad thoughts aren't against the law unless you act on them. Do you have a better idea. OMC had good points about making laws stick, how about you MY. This could be what if'd to death, what is a better solution to save 17,000 lives a year. Cancer kills too, does this mean the gov't shouldn't be looking for a cure? Play the cards your dealt with I guess