Lisa Wallace-Faath found out the hard way that the courts mean business when they order people to use an ignition interlock in their cars. She was one of 25 county residents caught in a two-week sweep targeting convicted drunk drivers.
The drunk drivers are required to install ignition interlocks in their cars and not to drive any car that doesn’t have an interlock installed. The system requires drivers to breathe into the interlock device. The car won’t start if it detects alcohol on the driver’s breath.
Ironically Wallace-Faath allegedly drove illegally to a meeting with her probation officer.
The sweep was a joint effort of the county District Attorney’s office and the county Department of Probation.
The drivers who were arrested for trying to bypass the device or driving a car without the ignition interlock face a violation of probation and a possible jail sentence. It makes sense for the justice system to come down hard on these offenders. Driving while intoxicated and driving under the influence are both serious crimes. These drivers may have been caught before something tragic happened, but everyone knows that drunk drivers kill.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice is rightfully proud of the interlock program: “Ignition interlocks protect our roadways by requiring that convicted drunk drivers prove that they’re sober when they get behind the wheel. When those protections are circumvented, however, every motorist and pedestrian is endangered.
“This sweep shows Nassau County law enforcement’s commitment to ensuring compliance with this life-saving measure.”
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a national organization that has led the fight against drunk driving, praised the two-week sweep. They called the District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Probation “a stellar example” of a successful, coordinated effort to enforce lifesaving laws.
That’s high praise from an organization that knows all too well the pain that drunk drivers can cause.
MADD hopes that the “Nassau County program will become a model for other jurisdictions throughout the nation.” The county’s “commitment to enforcing the state’s ignition interlock law will undoubtedly result in lives saved and injuries prevented,” said MADD National President Jan Withers.
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims ignition interlocks have reduced repeat drunk driving offenses by 67 percent.
One of the best features of the ignition-interlock program is that the offender is responsible for the cost of installing and maintaining the system and not the taxpayer. If the offenders want to drive, they have to pay the piper. Driving on the county roads is a privilege, not a right and drunk drivers have abused that privilege.
We join MADD in congratulating the District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Probation for pursuing the innovative approach to the problem of drunk driving.
