Ignition Interlock Tricks
If you've been ordered to use an ignition interlock device, you know that it checks your breath for alcohol before allowing the car to start. Therefore, it seems easy to trick it. In reality, there are a few reasons this trick doesn't work, and you should never do it.
If you're drunk, just get a sober person to help, start the car, and then switch places. Seems easy, right?
Here's why you shouldn't do it:
- It's illegal. First and foremost, know that doing this is against the law. You could be charged with a crime if you're caught.
- The devices use cameras. The state-of-the-art ignition interlock devices don't just check your breath. They also take pictures. If you're not the one blowing into the device, there will be solid proof. This proof can then be sent to the police.
- The device may ask for a second check. Modern interlock devices may ask you to blow again after a certain amount of time. If you are drunk and you had someone else help you start the car, it's going to shut your vehicle down -- possibly in the road.
Having an ignition interlock device assigned to you is, as you can see, something to take very seriously. You can't remove the device or trick it. You have to be sober to start your car. This can absolutely limit when and where you can drive in a way you've never been limited before. Since a conviction can have such a drastic impact on your personal freedoms, you need to know all of your legal options when facing DUI charges.
Source: Life Safer, "Why You Just Can't Fool an Ignition Interlock," Charles Hickman, accessed Dec. 12, 2016