Category Archives: Alcohol Testing

NY Lawmakers Want Ignition Interlock Devices in All Buses After String of DWI Incidents

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A third bus driver has been charged with DWI this month in New York, after crashing into a tree while children were on board. In response to the string of dangerous drunk driving antics, New York lawmakers State Senator Charles Fuschillo and Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice immediately called for new legislation requiring an ignition interlock device in all buses, which would prevent a person with alcohol in their system to start the bus.

The legislation, which is co-sponsored by Fuschillo and supported by Rice and Assemblyman David McDonough, would require all New York buses manufactured after July 1, 2013 to be equipped with an ignition interlock device. The estimated costs for these devices, as estimated by the lawmakers, would cost between $750-$1,500 per bus.

In just one month, there have been three incidents involving school bus drivers allegedly driving drunk. The October 3 incident involved a Long Island bus driver who was transporting five children home when he crashed his bus into a residential home.

In the latest incident, school bus driver Robert Stundis was pulled over when his mini-bus swerved due to a blown front tire. He was pulled over by police, and a half empty bottle of vodka was found in the bus, and his BAC registered at .23, almost three times the legal limit. He had made his last stop less than an hour before he was stopped by police. If the law passes, New York would be the first state in the nation to require the use of ignition interlock devices on school buses.

Only 3 out of 10 Convicted DWI Offenders in New York Install Mandatory Ignition Interlock Device

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Since 2010, all drivers convicted of DWI in New York must use an ignition interlock device on their vehicle for a minimum of six months. The device will not allow the car to start if alcohol, which can be as low as .025%, is detected in the driver’s breath. This zero tolerance policy started as a provision under New York’s “Leandra’s Law”, also known as the Child Passenger Protection Act.

State government records are showing that many convicted DWI offenders are evading the issue of installing an ignition interlock device on their vehicle, and a review of the records since the law was implemented two years ago show that as many as 23,000 motorists have avoided the installation of the device, often by simply selling their car or signing ownership over to a family member.

But convicted DWI offenders are still operating vehicles without the device, and in some cases while they are intoxicated. Some are still driving their original vehicle and some are being caught driving their friends’ cars.

Case in point: Nicholas Santaniello of West Seneca was convicted of DWI and complied with the law by having the ignition interlock device installed in his vehicle. The device requires monthly calibrations to check proper operation and to document any ‘fails’ on the device. For one of these calibrations, Santaniello arrived in his friend’s car, and Santaniello’s car was driven by his friend. Law enforcement was tipped off and when they arrived and tested Santaniello for alcohol, they discovered he had enough alcohol in his system to prevent his car from starting through the device. He was charged with operating a vehicle without an interlock device and operating a vehicle in violation of a restricted license. The friend was charged with facilitating operation to a person court-ordered to use an interlock device and operating without a license.

The compliance with the new ignition interlock device law has been just 30%. Each county in New York has an agency which monitors compliance and informs judges about the drivers who refuse to abide by the rules, or drivers who have failed to start their vehicle with the device.

State lawmakers are considering options on how to address the loophole with the law. Long Island Republican Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. has suggested that offenders who do not participate in the interlock device program wear “transdermal alcohol monitoring devices” such as the ankle bracelet.

Gov. Cuomo has successfully pushed for tougher drunk driving legislation recently, and tighter restrictions on licensing is a way the administration is handling repeat offenders.

New, innovative technology, such as SmartStart’s ignition interlock devices with Photo ID modules, can be a way to skirt the issue of friends helping friends bypass the device nefariously.

Petition Against Intoxilyzer 8000 Filed in Florida

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A petition was filed with Florida’s Division of Administrative hearings last week challenging the use of the breath-testing machine, the Intoxilyzer 8000, as a reliable device in drunk driving prosecutions.

The petitioners released a statement which accused the Florida Department of Law Enforcement of deliberately hiding information about the number of failed test results produced by the machine. The statement included that the FDLE withheld “information about failures by the Intoxilyzer 8000 during its initial approval testing in 2002.”

The attorneys filing the petition complained that even when the machine was approved in 2002, that it failed a significant amount of tests. They also said that the FDLE got approval for the Intoxilyzer 8000 without notifying the public or state government officials of these test results.

In 2009, a panel of judges in Brevard County ruled that 56 DUI cases would not be thrown out based on an argument that the Intoxilyzer was not approved for use in Florida, the argument was that specific parts were not in compliance with regulations.

The Intoxilyzer 8000 is manufactured by CMI in Kentucky and the source code for the machine has been the issue of litigation across the country.

If an administrative ruling in favor of the attorneys petition transpired, it could mean the FDLE would need to get another approval for the Intoxilyzer 8000, and it may also affect whether past breath-results could be used in pending DUI cases. Judge Stuart Lerner has been assigned to the case but has not yet set a hearing.

Breath Tests to Resume in DC

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D.C. is resuming breath testingfor suspected drunk drivers, ending a 19-month suspension of the program. In 2010, the District admitted that nearly 400 people were convicted with drunk driving based on inaccurate results from breath machines. Half of those convicted went to jail.$20,000 was paid to four people who challenged their cases in May. D.C. claimed to have reached deals in order to save time and continued litigation. Nearly 30 people filed lawsuits against the District who were charged with DWI.While the suspension of breath testing was on hiatus, the city continued to use field sobriety tests and urine screens for evidence of drivers’ intoxication levels, allowing the police to arrest hundreds of drivers.

The Breath Alcohol Testing Program will now require a trained Metropolitan Police Department operator to administer the tests. Mayor Vince Gray said that a grant for $150,000 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration helped reinstate the program.

The chief medical examiner’s office is now in charge of ensuring that the breath machines are working accurately through calibration and auditing.

The Comprehensive Impaired Driving Act of 2012 began Aug. 1, and under the law tougher penalties are imposed on first-time offenders, and more severe penalties are being given to repeat offenders.