Tougher restrictions on drunk drivers likely in Maryland
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Version 0 of 1. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has proposed regulations to toughen restrictions on people who drive under the influence, a move that is being hailed by advocates against drunken driving as a major step in the effort to save lives on the roadways. The proposed regulations lower the blood alcohol level for convicted drunk drivers who must participate in the ignition lock program from 0.15 or more to 0.08 or higher. The state considers drivers to be drunk if their blood alcohol content is 0.08 or higher. Participants in the ignition lock program have to use a breathalyzer to start their vehicles. “Our administration is committed to protecting all Marylanders by taking the common sense steps that will help to prevent drunk driving,” Hogan said in a statement Friday. “These proposed regulations will make our roads and communities safer by ensuring that past drunk driving offenders cannot start their car after they have been drinking.” If the regulations are approved, advocates say Maryland would become the 26th state in the country to enact an “all-offender” ignition lock program. [Stiffer drunken-driving bill stalled in Md. House panel; advocates worried] “It is a huge step,” said Frank Harris, the director of state government affairs for the national office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “This is probably the biggest action [against drunken driving] any governor has taken since 0.08 was signed into law in Maryland.” State officials said Maryland averages more than 7,800 crashes and 170 fatalities per year as a result of someone driving while impaired. “Expanding ignition interlock is a giant step forward in eliminating impaired driving fatalities on Maryland’s highways,” said Pete K. Rahn, the state transportation secretary. Advocates with Mothers Against Drunk Driving have been pushing for years for the state to strengthen its ignition lock program. A bill that would have required all those convicted of driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more to use a breathalyzer to start their vehicles stalled in the House Judiciary Committee during the last legislative session. In April, Colleen Sheehey-Church, the national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, wrote to the state Motor Vehicle Administration in April requesting that Maryland change its regulations to essentially mirror those in dozens of other states. |