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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: Federal plan plots ignition interlocks on all cars Better not have that glass of wine at dinner or happy hour beer -- your car may not start if Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the U.S. Senate have their way. The highway bill passed by the Senate last Wednesday includes two provisions that are causing indigestion for the restaurant industry, at least establishments that serve alcohol. First, the legislation appropriates $24 million for a federal program that could lead to the installation of alcohol detection systems as standard equipment in all vehicles. Second, it would provide $40 million in financial incentives to states that require anyone convicted of driving while intoxicated to put ignition interlocks in their cars. These devices are supposed to prevent people from driving if they’ve had too much to drink, but the The American Beverage Institute said they also would prevent many people who have had little to drink from driving their vehicles. Instead of the usual blood alcohol concentration limit of 0.08, the devices likely would be set at 0.03 or 0.04 percent for legal liability reasons, the institute maintains. The devices aren’t 100 percent accurate. “Even if these alcohol detection devices were manufactured to be reliable 99.99966 percent of the time, it would still mean over 4,000 misreadings per day,” said Sarah Longwell">Sarah Longwell, the institute’s managing director. “That means every day, thousands of sober drivers could find their cars locked down by a faulty interlock.” The institute also contends that first-time DWI offenders who have low-alcohol content shouldn’t be forced to install ignition interlocks in their vehicles. Instead, that requirement should apply only to repeat drunken drivers and people with high blood-alcohol content, Longwell said. The institute is lobbying the House to reject these provisions of the Senate highway bill, which are strongly supported by MADD. The House, however, may not even take up the Senate highway bill, which provides $109 billion for highway and transit programs over the next two years. House leaders prefer a five-year bill, but they’re having trouble finding consensus on how to pay for it. Current highway funding expires at the end of this month, so another short-term extension is the likely outcome. That extension probably wouldn’t get into controversial issues like alcohol detection systems. So for now, go ahead, have that pint or glass of wine. Just don’t have two. Only have one thing to say to the govt.... ON YER KNEES AND HOSE ME PLEASE! Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 4.
#4. To: bush_is_a_moonie, *Jack-Booted Thugs* (#0)
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