DUI law should be revised or dumped
On Jan. 1 a new law took effect in Illinois requiring first time DUI offenders to pay for and install an ignition lock breathalyzer device in their vehicles.
However, there is a loophole in the law which is big enough to drive a truck through.
The law applies to first time DUI offenders, mandating installation of the device and monitoring on a 24/7 basis. However, it turns out that first time offenders who must drive daily as part of their occupation are eligible for a 12/6 pass on driving without the device installed while driving in their work vehicles. Presumably this includes commercial truck drivers, cabdrivers, chauffeurs, traveling salesmen, police, firefighters, other first responders, postal employees, etc. The only exceptions specifically identified in the law are school bus drivers and drivers of company owned cars.
I asked State Rep. Mike Tryon about the rationale for excluding the requirement for installing the device in all vehicles, regardless of occupation. He explained that the 'pass' was included in the law as a compassionate consideration for those people dependent for their livelihoods on driving vehicles. But it also enables employers to avoid the costs of installing the ignition lock devices in commercial vehicles in addition to protecting the jobs of first-time offenders whose occupations require driving.
What happened to equal justice under the law? Why does it make sense that individuals who drive more are penalized less? Why do people who must drive to and from work on a daily basis require monitoring 24/7, but people who drive on the job do not? Compassion? Sorry, but if first-time offenders represent such a threat that they require monitoring 24/7, then we should have no compassion for any first-time offenders under the law.
Was the intent of this law to protect the public or, as appears likely, just a politically expedient response to pressure exerted by the usual special interest groups?
This law is flawed and should be reviewed and revised or stricken from the books.
Stephen J. Gohmann
Huntley