DUI Attorney John Brangwin believes ignition interlock devices distract a driver from the road. However, it is unfair to imply that the interlock device itself increases the chances of danger on the road.
Attorney Brangwin wrote about a tragic accident caused by an interlock’s rolling retest in last week’s Wenatchee World. Apparently, an interlock user was ordered to take a rolling retest while he was on the road. However, the interlock distracted him and he ended up veering into a bus, killing his passenger.
This was a terrible tragedy and certainly a type of accident we’ve seen before except with other distractions (phone, food, makeup, etc.) However, why is it that for any other device (cellphone, makeup, etc.) the driver is at fault, but if it’s an IID the driver is using, it’s the fault of the ignition interlock and, ultimately, the law?
The accident Brangwin wrote about is certainly terrible and not anything I would wish upon even my worst enemy. However, it was the driver’s choice to take the rolling retest without pulling over. Furthermore, the driver chose to drink and drive in the first place! As a blogger for this site, I’ve always encouraged drivers to pull over for rolling retests, as do many interlock manufacturers.
It’s a sad reality that many freak accidents happen on the road quite regularly. A driver can look away for one second and have his or her life taken away from them. Do the rolling retests on ignition interlocks cause a distraction leading to an accident? Yes. However, without ignition interlocks, let’s think about the greater number of preventable accidents that could possibly happen due to drinking and driving. The numbers and the logic speak for itself.