Few DWI ignition devices installed in vehicles

Joseph Spector and Nick Muscavage 8:11 p.m. EDT October 8, 2015
In this June 23, 2011 photo, Zachary Glaros, who has three DWIs on his record, demonstrates the
interlock ignition system, which requires him to blow into a tube to prove he is sober before starting
his car at his Bloomington, Minn., home.(Photo: JIM MONE/AP file photo)
ALBANY The installment rate is low in New York for ignition interlock devices on vehicles owned by
people convicted of drunken driving, state statistics show.
Only 26 percent of cases eligible for the devices were installed on vehicles last year. Comptroller
Thomas DiNapoli on Thursday warned local agencies to ensure they are properly overseeing the
program.
Ignition interlocks wont protect New Yorkers if DWI offenders can drive without installing the
devices, DiNapoli said in a statement.
But local governments said theres a reason why few devices are put in: A large majority of drunkendriving offenders agree to not operate a vehicle while they are on probation.

For example, Monroe County probation was to supervise 573 device installations last year, but 524,
or 91 percent, were not installed on the order of judges, according to records from the state
Department of Criminal Justice Services.
The percentage is misleading because it has nothing to do with the probation department. It is
purely the judges decision on who really gets them installed or not, Robert Burns, the countys chief
probation officer, said.
In 2010, New York enacted a law that requires anyone convicted of misdemeanor or felony drunken
driving to pay the cost of installing the device that tests the alcohol level of the driver. The car wont
start if the driver blows into the machine and is over the legal limit.
The measure was part of Leandras Law passed a year earlier that makes it a felony on the first
offense to drive drunk with a person age 15 or younger as a passenger.
The ignition device law has become complicated, though. Initially, some convicted drunk drivers
skirted the law by saying they wouldnt drive, but did anyway.
Then in 2013, the state Legislature toughened the law. It now requires defendants who claim they
do not own a vehicle to state under oath that they will not operate a motor vehicle without an

ignition device.
Still, in a report Thursday, DiNapoli criticized the New York City Department of Probation for not
improving its oversight of the system. Only five percent of the devices were installed in the city
between 2010 and 2014, DiNapoli said.
The rates of installation are horrible. Its a matter of enforcement, and I just dont know if we have
the manpower to get it done, Richard Mallow, executive director of state Mothers Against Drunk
Driving, said.
The city countered that most people who are convicted of drunken driving in the city end up not
driving and thus are in compliance with the law.
The small percentage of DWI probationers who own vehicles do install the legally required ignition
interlock devices on their cars, the probation department said in a statement.
Probation officers across New York offered a similar explanation.
Broome County had 93 cases eligible for the devices last year, and 78, or 84 percent, were not
installed, state records showed. The countys STOP-DWI program had a rate of 46 percent that were
not installed.
STOP-DWI programs typically have higher rates of the devices being installed because offenders can
receive a conditional license if they agree to use them, local officials said.
Ontario Probation & STOP-DWI had a rate of 60 percent that were not installed (212 of the 355
eligible). Wayne Probations rate was 59 percent (157 of 264).
Orleans Probations rate was 84 percent not installed (41 of 49 eligible). Genesee Probation was
similar, 82 percent not installed (72 of 88), while Genesee Justices rate was 52 percent (42 of 81).
Livingston Probations rate was 53 percent not installed (77 of 145).
Seneca Probations rate was 49 percent not installed (49 of the 99 eligible). Steuben Probations rate
was 90 percent not installed (46 of 51), while the Steuben County Sheriffs Office rate was 54 percent
not installed (64 of 118).
Wyoming Probations rate was 82 percent not installed (53 of 65), while Yates Probations was 56
percent (31 of 55).
JSPECTOR@Gannett.com
twitter.com/gannettalbany
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