Missouri should update drunk driving laws

Illinois now has one of the toughest drunk driving laws in America.
As they return to Jefferson City, Missouri legislators should look at upgrading the Show-Me State’s penalties.
As of Jan. 1, first-time Illinois drunk driving offenders must install an interlock device in their vehicles.
That means lawbreakers will have to take a breath test every time they turn the ignition. If they fail the test, the car won’t start.
It’s the Land of Lincoln’s biggest crackdown on drunk driving since .08 became the legal blood-alcohol limit in 1997. Other Illinois DUI laws also have been stiffened.
The goal, of course, is to reduce the number of repeat offenders. New Mexico had a 12 percent decrease in alcohol-related traffic deaths after similar guidelines were passed in 2005. Arizona and Louisiana are the other two states with monitor laws.
In Missouri, first-time offenders must pay a fine of up to $500 and can spend up to six months in jail. They also have their licenses suspended for 30 days, must pay a $45 fee, attend a substance-abuse traffic offender program and provide proof of auto insurance for two years.
Those are stiff penalties, but a required breath monitor would be an even bigger deterrent.
The Illinois law takes away the licenses of convicted offenders for 30 days, but they’re allowed back on the road if they pay the average $150 cost to have interlocks installed.
The state will check the devices monthly and charge maintenance fees to the offenders, who must blow into the gadget each time they try to drive. If a blood-alcohol content above .024 is detected, the engine won’t start.
The device also requires drivers to be tested periodically within the first 15 minutes and at least twice every hour while the car is running.
If alcohol is then detected, the monitor instructs the driver to pull over to side of road and the engine is stopped. Motorists who don’t comply face additional legal woes.
While convicted drunk drivers could skirt the law by driving a car without an ignition interlock or having someone else blow into it, they face up to three years in jail if caught.
It’s encouraging that traffic deaths were down five percent in Missouri from 2007 to 2008.
We suspect an even bigger decrease would happen if Missouri strengthened its drunk driving laws.