State: DUI offenders not opting for program
By KATE THAYER
After the first year that first-time drunken driving offenders can choose between losing their license for a period of time, or driving with a breath device installed in their car, most are choosing the former.
And, state officials were hoping otherwise.
The Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device, or BAIID, began in 1994, but was first available to first-time DUI offenders in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2009.
The device requires drivers to blow into a machine that calculates the blood-alcohol level. If it’s too high, the car will not start.
Once the car starts, the driver must blow into the device every five to 10 minutes to continue driving, or else lights will flash and the horn will sound.
Instead of the mandatory driver’s license suspension once someone is charged with a DUI, the driver in some cases may instead choose to drive with the BAIID device.
Susan McKinney, administrator of the Illinois Secretary of State BAIID division, said the device allows the state to make sure DUI offenders without a license don’t drive illegally.
In 2009, about 9,000 people in the state took part in the BAIID program. Of those, about 6,500 were first-time offenders. In Kane County, 504 drivers have a BAIID device.
McKinney said state officials aren’t happy with those numbers and expected them to be higher.
“We would love to see all first-time offenders, which would be around 30,000, take part in the program,” she said. “But, we knew obviously not every single person would take this opportunity to be able to drive.”
It’s not that state officials want to provide driving privileges to DUI offenders, it’s that they want to offer an alternative to driving illegally, McKinney said.
She couldn’t provide numbers of DUI offenders who drive while their license is suspended, but said it’s a problem.
And, those drivers could sometimes drive drunk, she said.
“If someone [with a] suspended or revoked license chooses not to drive, we can’t do anything about it. The problem is, we know some of them continue to drive,” she said.
State officials are examining why the program isn’t as successful as they had hoped by examining the cost, and if offenders are aware the program exists, McKinney said.
“Is it lack of knowledge? Are they scared of the program? Is it the expense? We’re trying to take that into consideration,” she said.
The cost of the program to each offender who participates is $110 a month, plus a $75 installation fee and a de-installation fee once they regain their driving privileges, she said.
Paul Zacccaria, owner of Street Style in St. Charles, installs and calibrates BAIID devices for those in the state’s program.
He said once someone has the device installed, they must return every 60 days so he can attach the device to a computer, which then goes on to provide information to the state.
The device not only makes sure a car cannot start if the driver is legally drunk, but it also clocks how many times the car is started, among other information, Zaccaria said.
That information is sent to the state every 48 hours, but is also calibrated at the shop every two months, he added.
He said he hasn’t seen anyone try to tamper with the device, but has heard of people attempting to do so from other shop owners.
If a driver does try to cheat the machine, they could face additional misdemeanor charges, said Assistant State’s Attorney Steve Sims. Sims heads up the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office’s misdemeanor and traffic units.
Sims hasn’t seen anyone in Kane County charged with tampering with the device, or having someone else blow into it for them, he said.
