# Any Reason Not To Have Alcohol Sensor/Ignition Interlock In All Cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 1, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386 "2009-06-01T18:14:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/21 "2009-06-01T19:19:44Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Consider this scenario: > > You’ve been drinking. You’ve had just enough alcohol to put you over the legal limit, but you’re still capable of driving. Keep in mind that some people have very high tolerances for alcohol and can put down a lot of booze and still have their faculties. You’re walking to the car, from the bar, and three guys come up behind you and start following you. You turn a corner into an alley, towards the parking lot, and they’re still following you. It’s starting to freak you out. You finally get into your car - they surround you and clearly intend to rob you or jack your car. One of them has a crowbar. You try to start your car. You can’t, because you’re over the legal alcohol limit. Why wouldn’t you walk back to the bar (or to another populated area) when you noticed the guys following you? People do get carjacked from running cars- it’s not like you’ll automatically be safe if you get in the car and start the engine. If you did get in the car, why not lock the doors, flash the headlights, and honk the horn? The prospect of someone coming to see what all the commotion is about would make you a less attractive target for criminals. If you knew your car had one of these devices, why would you drive to a bar alone and drink enough to put you over the limit, unless you were very inexperienced with the device? Surely you’d learn from using it how many drinks you could have and not have it keep you from driving? I don’t see this happening very often, and this plus a carjacking (which are also rare in most places) happening at the same time would be really improbable. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/22 "2009-06-01T19:33:55Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Well, you did say that a tax credit would “cancel out the whole cost,” so you’ll forgive my misunderstanding, I trust. Sorry – I meant from the perspective of the customer/car company only. No, I’m all too aware that there’s no free lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/23 "2009-06-01T19:39:40Z")
It’d be extremely un-hygienic and gross to have a mouth nozzle your car like that. People wouldn’t accept it. > [@robby](#): > > I’m still against these devices, but this is a trivial objection to overcome. All you need are removable, disposable mouthpieces. Haha, Really? You haven’t thought that through. Consider an average day of going to work and stopping for groceries on your way home. You’ve started the ignition 3 times. Do you really want to carry around a garbage bag full of disposable mouth pieces so that you can start your car? Who will buy them, the driver? Do we really want another item to add to your list of daily disposable needs, and will we through away truck loads of mouth pieces every day , even with this recent push of becoming more green? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/24 "2009-06-01T19:46:15Z")
Hey, I’m against this for several reasons, but I have to ask. Have any of the people concerned about hygiene ever eaten in a restaurant? Because I assure you that those forks have been in someone’s mouth before yours. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/25 "2009-06-01T19:50:48Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > ARGENT TOWERS, you live in a very scary world. I see why you think you need guns everyplace you go. GONZOMAX, you’ve contributed absolutely nothing to this discussion whatsoever. Great job, ace. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/26 "2009-06-01T19:53:08Z")
Never mind. Carry on -XT ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/27 "2009-06-01T19:53:56Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Hey, I’m against this for several reasons, but I have to ask. Have any of the people concerned about hygiene ever eaten in a restaurant? Because I assure you that those forks have been in someone’s mouth before yours. Because unlike something like this, forks are able to be washed. Something like this probably wouldn’t be, (or at least with the nice, clean sterilizing methods that eating utensils are.) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/28 "2009-06-01T19:54:43Z")
A little Googling tells me that ignition interlocks get around the “having somebody else breathe into the device for you” problem by periodically requiring the driver to blow into the device while driving. If you don’t do this, the car lights start flashing and the horn starts honking. If interlocks all required that, I don’t think very many people would be willing to accept them. I might be willing to accept one that only requires you to blow into it when you start the car, but I wouldn’t accept one that would periodically make me blow into it while driving (at least not without a court order). But if you did have a device that you only had to blow into when you started the car, we might see an increase in people leaving their cars running outside a bar. There would be more air pollution from that. > [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Hey, I’m against this for several reasons, but I have to ask. Have any of the people concerned about hygiene ever eaten in a restaurant? Because I assure you that those forks have been in someone’s mouth before yours. The forks have presumably been washed between uses. Rental car companies could provide each driver with a new disposable mouthpiece (or several of them). As long as no spit gets into any other part of the device, that should deal with the hygiene issue. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/29 "2009-06-01T20:04:36Z")
> [@Brandus](#): > > Haha, Really? You haven’t thought that through. Consider an average day of going to work and stopping for groceries on your way home. You’ve started the ignition 3 times. Do you really want to carry around a garbage bag full of disposable mouth pieces so that you can start your car? You don’t need a new mouthpiece every time you start the car–only if you switch drivers. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/30 "2009-06-01T20:07:27Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Because unlike something like this, forks are able to be washed. Something like this probably wouldn’t be, (or at least with the nice, clean sterilizing methods that eating utensils are.) My son uses a mouthpiece for his albuterol puffer. It gets washed out every few uses. After all, if you’re using the mouthpiece properly, you really shouldn’t be spitting into it anyway. This is a red herring, folks. There are many reasons to object to these devices other than the stupid mouthpiece! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/31 "2009-06-01T20:30:52Z")
> [@Brandus](#): > > It’d be extremely un-hygienic and gross to have a mouth nozzle your car like that. People wouldn’t accept it. > > Haha, Really? You haven’t thought that through. Consider an average day of going to work and stopping for groceries on your way home. You’ve started the ignition 3 times. Do you really want to carry around a garbage bag full of disposable mouth pieces so that you can start your car? > > Who will buy them, the driver? Do we really want another item to add to your list of daily disposable needs, and will we through away truck loads of mouth pieces every day , even with this recent push of becoming more green? Are you serious that you wouldn’t put your mouth on a component more than once without changing it? How do you function with straws and toothbrushes and a child’s sippy cup and a clarinet and kissing loved ones? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/32 "2009-06-01T20:37:03Z")
> [@robby](#): > > My son uses a mouthpiece for his albuterol puffer. It gets washed out every few uses. After all, if you’re using the mouthpiece properly, you really shouldn’t be spitting into it anyway. > > This is a red herring, folks. There are many reasons to object to these devices other than the stupid mouthpiece! Does he ever have to share it with other people, such as your roommate or mechanic? Too nasty. Ever go used car shopping? That mouthpiece could have seen 10 years of random people’s lips. Also that mouth piece is a driving hazard. Like said up thread you could get someone to blow in it for you then keep the car running. It’d need periodic checks. Meaning you’d have to take your eyes off the fucking road in rush hour free way traffic. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/33 "2009-06-01T20:45:08Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Are you serious that you wouldn’t put your mouth on a component more than once without changing it? How do you function with straws and toothbrushes and a child’s sippy cup and a clarinet and kissing loved ones? Wouldn’t you have to drag your mouth piece everywhere you go? Even if you’re not driving a driving situation might come up. Say the driver you road with came down sick. Your choice would be to basically share the driver’s toothbrush, make your sick friend drive, or be stranded because the government decided to treat you like a criminal. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/34 "2009-06-01T20:57:43Z")
Are these devices even capable of being calibrated so that they can accept only a certain amount of alcohol? I had a guy work for me once that got a second DUI and they put one of these blow and go’s in his car, and the car wouldn’t start if there was _any_ alcohol _at all_ in his system. It was an all or nothing proposition. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/35 "2009-06-01T21:17:44Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Wouldn’t you have to drag your mouth piece everywhere you go? Even if you’re not driving a driving situation might come up. Say the driver you road with came down sick. Your choice would be to basically share the driver’s toothbrush, make your sick friend drive, or be stranded because the government decided to treat you like a criminal. Don’t you carry your keys everywhere you go? Your wallet? Your purse? This is really a non-issue. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/36 "2009-06-01T21:20:57Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > I had an instinctive revulsion when I thought of the idea, but then thinking of all the DWI deaths, I thought “I’m surprised MADD or someone hasn’t pushed this further than they have.” Put differently: PETA has gotten more traction for truly dumb ideas (“Milk will make your kids diabetic”) than any support I’ve ever heard for wider use of interlocks. I think MADD and other groups aren’t pushing it because they know it’s not a practical or feasible idea. It wouldn’t really do a lot to stop people from drunk driving, but more importantly, most people accept that this is a drinking culture and a car culture, and that there will be collateral damage as a result of those facts. The other factor is that the number of drunk driving accidents/deaths is [inflated](http://www.drunkdrivinglawyers.com/common-dui-myths.cfm). > [@](#): > > The reason for the inflated number of accidents caused by a drunk driver is because of the way accidents are referred to when someone, anyone, involved in the accident has been drinking, no matter how much or little they had to drink. Most of us would assume that an alcohol-related accident would be an accident in which alcohol somehow contributed to the accident and caused it. This isn’t so. Even if the victim has been drinking, as little as one drink, but the person who caused the accident is completely sober, it’s considered an alcohol-related accident. > > - If a person is sitting in a parked car and has had one drink and another car hits them, then it’s considered an alcohol-related accident. > > - If a pedestrian who’s had a drink is sitting on a park bench, and a car with a sober driver loses control and hits the pedestrian, it’s an alcohol-related accident. > > - If a driver who has had a single drink is then involved in a fatal accident that someone else causes, it’s still considered an alcohol-related accident. Drunk driving can be a horrible thing, but a truly staggering number of people drive after drinking, and the chances of drinking directly causing an accident are fairly slim in my experience. More [here](http://www.drunkdrivingduilawblog.com/duilaw/madd-%E2%80%9Cstatistics%E2%80%9D-again-debunked/) > [@](#): > > Right now, the 176 million responsible Americans who drink in moderation can still safely (and legally) drive home after enjoying a drink. Furthermore, research shows that drivers who talk on cell phones, drive drowsy, or travel 7 mph above the speed limit pose a larger threat than those who enjoy a few drinks (and stay below 0.08) before driving home. At a certain point, you have to accept that driving is inherently risky. The cost-benefit analysis on things like what you suggest are so high that most people don’t think it’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/37 "2009-06-01T21:21:40Z")
Wouldn’t the mouthpiece just be part of the car, attached to the steering column? I’m not sure how this turned into a central issue. 😉 Aside from the cost, it’s flat-out unnecessary and it’s thoroughly intrusive. Even if it were free and nobody had to pay for it at all, there is no reason _my_ BAC needs to be tested because _somebody else_ drives drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/38 "2009-06-01T21:27:14Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The purpose of a car is to respond to its driver. The driver is the master. The car is the slave. If I want to drive my car 100 miles an hour, it’s my car’s job to do what I tell it to do. If I want to drive my car into the mud, or on the grass, or up a steep grade, even if it’s not the wisest or safest thing to do, the car is supposed to obey these orders unquestioningly. When cars start NOT LETTING YOU do stuff, that’s bullshit, in my opinion. This is true, but this is probably also why of all accidents of any sort from which a person can die, vehicular accidents cause the most deaths. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/39 "2009-06-01T22:03:13Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Don’t you carry your keys everywhere you go? Your wallet? Your purse? This is really a non-issue. Keys yes, wallet yes, but why would you expect me to carry a purse? I dunno about Canada but guys down here don’t generally carry, or own, purses The right pocket is full of keys, wallet, and ink pen. My left has my phone, usb data cable, and headphones. That only leaves the back pockets and I can’t imagine a mouth piece is fun to set on. I don’t like putting my wallet back there because it’s a bitch to dig out. Keys would hurt to set on too, and I might break my phone doing that. Also what happens if I lose it? I’ve lost my keys a couple of times, and my wallet 3 times. You’re asking to me have one more thing I could lose and strand myself. Is that fair to me? The mouth piece is very objectionable. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386/40 "2009-06-01T22:14:15Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I’m still against these devices, but this is a trivial objection to overcome. All you need are removable, disposable mouthpieces. A mouthpiece for _every single automobile trip in the country_ would add up to a signficiant amount of trash, comparable to the mass of plastic grocery bags used and disposed of on a routine basis. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-not-to-have-alcohol-sensor-ignition-interlock-in-all-cars/498386.md?page=3)