Recently, a 38-year-old man from White Plains was accused of driving under the influence and failure to install an ignition interlock device. He was spotted by the New York State police because he was illegally parked on I-287 in Harrison, New York. The police interviewed him and found that the man was intoxicated. He was taken into custody and tested, and his blood alcohol content was found to be 0.15%.
The man had two prior DWI convictions over the past 10 years. Therefore, he was required to operate a vehicle only when an ignition interlock device had been installed. When he was picked up, an ignition interlock device had not been installed in his car. Accordingly, the prosecutor charged him with felony driving while intoxicated and first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. He was also charged for the misdemeanor of operating a car not equipped with an ignition interlock device.
If you’ve been convicted of driving while intoxicated or aggravated driving while intoxicated, you will need to install an ignition interlock device (IID) in any car or other vehicle you own or use. In most cases, this device needs to be installed for a minimum of 12 months.
An IID is around the size of a cell phone. When it’s part of your sentence, you will need to pay to have it installed and wired to your car’s ignition. To start the car, you need to exhale into the IID, and provide a clean breath sample. If an IID finds that your blood alcohol concentration is .025% or higher, it will block the engine of your car from starting.
Additionally, after an engine is running, the IID will require you to give more breath samples to ensure your breath is clean. If you don’t exhale into the device, the failure is recorded by the IID, and a warning will be given to you. An alarm will go off until you turn off the ignition or give the device an appropriate breath sample.
If you were convicted of driving while intoxicated, as the White Plains man mentioned above was, and your court order requires an IID, it is illegal to drive without one. This is a separate crime. Therefore, in addition to any further DWI charge you could face after getting picked up, you could be convicted by a Class A misdemeanor for failure to install the device. You could be sentenced to another year in jail.
Further, when it’s imposed, the restriction that you need to drive only those vehicles with ignition interlock devices will be added to your driver’s license record. That way, even if your license is revoked, the police will be able to tell that you were required to have the IID installed.
Consult a Seasoned White Plains DWI Lawyer
Call trustworthy White Plains DWI defense attorney Mark A. Siesel if you were charged with driving under the influence or failure to install an IID device. Mr. Siesel represents those charged with DWI or related offenses in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, along with Westchester, Putnam, Kings, Orange, Dutchess, Sullivan, Rockland, Bronx, New York, and Ulster Counties. Please contact us at (914) 428-7386 or complete our contact form.