If Someone Asks You To Breathe Into An Interlock Device, Don’t!

A Connecticut man has been charged with avoidance of an interlock device, after he was caught trying to enlist passersby at a local marina to help him start his vehicle by blowing into his ignition interlock device. Obviously, the man had been drinking and was not able to blow into the device himself in order to get his vehicle started and pull his boat from the water. This kind of situation illustrates all too clearly how easy it is to bypass an interlock device, if you just have a sober and willing participant to help you.

Ignition interlock devices, which can be installed at your local auto shop by a qualified auto technician are designed to prevent drivers from drinking and driving. The device must be blown into (like a breathalyzer) before the vehicle can be started, and periodically the driver must stop and pull over to blow into it while driving (a practice called rolling tests).

Ignition interlock systems may be required after a DUI conviction.

These devices have kept a lot of drunken drivers off of the road, and undoubtedly saved countless lives as well. Unfortunately, as stories like this illustrate, they are actually quite easy to bypass. Other individuals have been caught trying to bypass the system by hooking up a gas tank and a hose to blow into the device.

Some efforts have been made to bolster these devices, which can be installed at a local auto shop which provides the service (as Fort Collins Foreign Car Service does). For example, one idea is to require a camera device to be installed with the ignition interlock. This would take a picture every time the device is used in order to make sure that the driver is in fact the one blowing into the mouthpiece. Some states have even considered requiring these cameras be installed with all interlock devices.

If you have any questions about an ignition interlock device, or you would like to have one installed, contact us at Fort Collins Foreign Car Service. Our expert auto technicians will answer any of your questions and make sure to get you in and out quickly if you do need any service.