How Forgiving is an Ignition Interlock?

We all want to do our best in life, but none of us are perfect. Normally, we are expected to make the right decisions quickly, but as everyone knows, our first impulse may not be our smartest move. Unfortunately, that’s a familiar story for many drunk driving offenders who find themselves in front of a judge with a car breathalyzer or ignition interlock requirement before they can really say what happened in the first place. Obviously, perfection has fallen short at this point, and there’s a fear of further missteps if the device isn’t taken seriously. So, how forgiving is an ignition interlock when it comes to drinking and driving? Should you chance a glass of wine or just surrender to full sobriety for the duration of your requirement?

An ignition interlock is a technology-based device that requires your state to set a pre-determined limit that is programmed into your device. If your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level exceeds that limit, you won’t be able to drive. It’s not that your ignition interlock isn’t forgiving; it’s just doing its job and keeping you from making another bad decision after you’ve been drinking. Besides, even if you’re under the BAC limit, that number will still be recorded and your reporting agency will see that you are still drinking alcohol… and they’re not very forgiving about that, at all.

The forgiving aspect of an ignition interlock is that it allows you to re-test if you have a breath sample that doesn’t pass the BAC test. The devices aren’t there to say that it is okay to have a glass of wine with dinner, or that you’ve almost waited long enough to drive after drinking. They are, however, solutions that allow a less-than-perfect impulse to drink and drive to not impact the rest of your life as you recover from a drunk driving conviction.