NEW LEGISLATION GETS TOUGHER ON DRUNK DRIVERS By SECRETARY OF STATE GEORGE H. RYAN

Several anti-DUI bills I proposed this spring are still alive in the General Assembly, including tougher measures for repeat drunk drivers, teens convicted of illegally transporting liquor, and anyone caught using a fake drivers license or identification card.

For the third straight year, I also urged legislators to lower the limit for presumed intoxication in Illinois from a blood-alcohol concentration of .10 percent to .08. However, the Senate Transportation Committee, acting on an alternative I provided, agreed to hold statewide hearings to gauge public sentiment on the issue.

The people of Illinois believe, as I do, that the average person should not have four or five drinks in an hour, then get behind the wheel of a car. They believe we should get tough with teenagers — too many of whom often times value their drivers licenses more than their lives. And they believe we should get even tougher on drunk drivers who are arrested time and again.

On the deadline for the May edition of the "Illinois Municipal Review," apart from the .08 legislation, my anti-DUI proposals in the Senate had been passed and sent to the House.

Ignition Inter-lock Pilot Program

To address the dangers posed by hard-core drunk drivers, an amendment was attached to House Bill 1362 authorizing my office to create a pilot program to test the use of ignition inter-lock devices by repeat DUI offenders. At this magazine's press time, the bill had passed the House and was in the Senate.

Although a number of other states are using the devices, my Select Council on DUI recommended that Illinois establish a pilot program to determine its own parameters for its use.

Ignition inter-locks were developed as a means of allowing convicted drunk drivers to maintain their driving privileges while guaranteeing that they would not be able to drive drunk. Here is how the device works:

The driver blows into the inter-lock, which is connected to the vehicle's ignition system. If there is a detectable amount of alcohol in the driver's breath, the vehicle will not start. To prevent the driver from starting the vehicle while sober and then consuming alcohol after the vechicle has been started, the device has a timed set of intervals at which the driver will be required to submit to the breath test again and again.

Each driver, whether the offender or someone else, must submit to the test to start the vehicle or to maintain its operation once started. All potential drivers who will interact with an inter-lock device go through intensive training to learn how to use it.

Ignition inter-locks will help with but not end the habitual drunk driving problem. As a result, we will pay close attention and spend the time necessary to ensure that the program is conducted as effectively as possible. That's the primary reason why the DUI Council recommended a pilot program.

The measure has the support of the Illinois Bar Association and the liquor industry.

May 1993 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 23

Teen-age Drunk Driving

Senate Bill 904 is a starting point for building a legislative consensus on lowering the BAC standard for minors. As now written, the bill provides a suspension of driving privileges for anyone under age 21 convicted of illegal transportation of alcohol. A second offense would lead to a license revocation.

Currently, minors are subject to the same rule as adults, facing a one-year license suspension if they commit two illegal transportation offenses in a single year.

In a related effort to crack down on teen drunk driving, Senate Bill 905 would impose a $500 fine or 50 hours of public service on anyone caught using a phony drivers license or state ID card.

The measure would supplement my office's efforts to shut down criminal fake ID rings. Many of those operations exist because minors are willing to pay hundreds of dollars to falsify their ages to buy liquor.

Teens who drink and drive are among the deadliest drivers on the road. With these bills, they will pay a big price if caught using a fake ID, and will pay with their drivers licenses if caught transporting alcohol. I hope these laws will keep them from paying the ultimate price.

Another of my proposals passed in the Senate aims to keep more drunk drivers from evading the statutory summary suspension of their drivers licenses. A top priority for many anti-drunk driving groups, Senate Bill 906 would allow judges to continue a hearing on a DUI suspension when the arresting officer is not in court. Proponents believe the legislation will discourage defense attorneys from scheduling DUI cases when they know an officer cannot attend.

This comprehensive, anti-DUI package is designed to keep Illinois where it belongs, in the forefront of the national effort to combat drunk and drugged driving. Survey after survey shows the public is squarely behind tougher DUI laws, including lower illegal BAC limits. •

Page 24 / Illinois Municipal Review / May 1993