May 31, 2016 3 min read

Imagine a loved one getting into a vehicle for some routine journey and never coming home again because they were killed by a driver who had a few too many and heedlessly got behind the wheel in an impaired state.

Losing someone you care about is always painful. Losing them because of someone else’s recklessness and negligence is nothing less than excruciating, making the sorrow all the more cutting and deep.

That happened to scores of families in Pennsylvania in 2014. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 345 people were killed that year in crashes caused by drunken driving. Granted, some of those who died were driving drunk. But certainly many were drivers, passengers and pedestrians whose lives were taken because of a random twist of fate that had them on the road or crossing a street at the same time as someone who was behind the wheel and under the influence.

While rates of drunken driving have fortunately been declining in recent years, Pennsylvania took an overdue step last week that could reduce the number of arrests and fatalities caused by drunken driving even further. The Legislature approved and Gov. Tom Wolf quickly signed a bill that would require some first-time offenders to use ignition interlock devices in their vehicles for a year. The Breathalyzer-equipped locks prevent a vehicle from being started if an unsatisfactory blood-alcohol level is revealed after a driver blows into a tube. The law will take effect next year, putting Pennsylvania among the majority of states that use ignition interlocks for some first-time offenders. The commonwealth previously only required them for repeat offenders. It should be noted some first-time offenders will be able to avoid the ignition interlocks if their blood-alcohol concentration is below 0.10 percent. Right now in Pennsylvania, the legal limit is 0.08. First-time offenders will also be able to sidestep the ignition interlocks if they participate in the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program, which is commonly offered to first-time offenders, and allows them to have charges dismissed and their records expunged.

It’s a law that promises to be both effective and compassionate. A common punishment for first-time offenders is suspension of their licenses, which either prevented them getting to their jobs and carrying out other daily routines, or flouted entirely. Ignition interlocks allow offenders to continue to use their vehicles, and be sober when they are doing so. According to University of Pennsylvania research published earlier this year in the American Journal of Public Health, requiring some first-time offenders to use ignition interlocks could reduce alcohol-related fatalities on our streets and highways by 15 percent.

While those required to use the ignition interlocks will have to pay for them – to the tune of $1,000 apiece – the price will be worth it for those required to use them, Richard Long, the executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, told the Observer-Reporter. “The ability to still drive your vehicle is not only a cost savings, it’s something that allows someone to get to their employment and move around the community more safely and more readily than if they were to lose their license.”

Thanks to the Legislature’s action and Wolf’s signature, there are now only two states that do not have ignition interlock programs for first-time offenders. On this score at least, it’s good to see Pennsylvania finally joining the rest of the country.