I haven’t posted for quite awhile. This has probably been our law firm’s busiest year ever. So, that leaves little time for things like blogging. Plenty has been happening in our law firm and in the DUI news world. Our law firm was chosen as and featured by SuperLawyers for 2006 and appeared on the inside cover of the SuperLawyers publication and their insert in Kansas City Magazine’s November addition. We were also named as SuperLawyers last year. Tom Erker was recently named as one of the Best Lawyers in America. We have been winning cases and obtaining dismissals for our clients. The most important thing is that our clients are continuing to choose us for their legal needs and they are continuing to send their friends and family to see us.
There has been a lot of news lately about MADD’s press release that they are recommending ignition interlock devices for every single person who gets a DUI. They are also championing new technology that claims it can sense the alcohol level in a person’s blood by infrared technology that permeates the skin. MADD has previously suggested that all cars be required to be manufactured with this kind of technology, and that it be mandatory on all cars, regardless of who the driver is. While technology is likely to change the DUI landscape in the future (remember the Intoxilyzer 5000’s in Kansas are from 1984 or so), we are a long way from any of it being perfect. Ignition interock devices are designed to shut cars down or prevent them from being started when there is any alcohol detected (usually .04 or less). So, they are designed to not just stop drunk driving, i.e. illegal driving, but also to prevent the legal, responsible and safe drinking and driving. The ignition interlock devices have had all kinds of problems, as well. They have prevented cars from starting when there was no alcohol present, and they have failed to detect alcohol when it was present. This happens on a regular basis. Think about how many items on your car don’t work properly from time to time – power windows, CD players, gauges, door locks, etc. Ignition interlock devices need a lot of maintenance and calibrating.
The infra-red technology is unproven and a long way from being rolled out in any serious way. The idea is that steering wheels or arm rests would have the technology and would sense if the driver is under the influence just by the touch of the skin. The company also claims that police officers will have a mobile device that can quickly give them an accurate reading on the side of the road, so that all motorists can be checked at all traffic stops. Of course, the company won’t release any details regarding the device and they are not in use anywhere, so it may just be science fiction.
The bottom line is that DUI is a personal responsibility issue. No amount of technology will be able to completely prevent it. It is entirely unreasonable to require everyone else to be required to pay for and maintain these devices in cars, or to be subject to these infra-red searches just to catch the few. Once again, common sense is being sacrificed at the altar of DUI. Don’t be surprised when you next buy a car and see some extras on the sticker that aren’t options.