Ignition Interlock Device

The state of Connecticut now approves Intoxalock for its ignition interlock devices. Also, we are recommending them to users over other services. Learn more by visiting their page.

If you are caught drinking and driving, one punishment is having an ignition interlock device installed in your car. This device will lock your steering wheel when you get into your car. In order to start your car, you have to blow into a tube that will read your blood alcohol content. If your blood alcohol content level is lower than the state limit, the device will recognize this. Then, your car will start. However, if your blood alcohol content level is too high, the device will continue to lock your steering wheel. Then you will not be able to drive. In order to participate in this program, you must fulfill certain requirements.

Ignition Interlock Program

If you want to participate in this program, you have to send $175 to the Department of Motor Vehicles. This money will get used for the required restoration fee. You also have to be able to prove that you have a valid license and registration. This means that if your license gets suspended, you can’t apply for the program until after the suspension.

You can only apply to the ignition interlock program if you got convicted of vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault, or an OUI. You must also have served the required license suspension for each of these crimes, respectively. For vehicular manslaughter, this suspension is for one year. For vehicular assault, the suspension lasts one year, and for an OUI, the license suspension is 45 days. All license suspension issues must get resolved before you can apply to the program.

Application

An administration fee of $100 should get submitted. Also, you should submit the ignition interlock device installation application. This can get sent to:

Department of Motor Vehicles
Driver Services Division
60 State Street
Wethersfield, Connecticut 06161-2525

If you are approved to become part of the program, an ignition interlock device must be installed on all vehicles that you own. If you want to install a device on a car that you do not own, the owner must fill out an additional application.

The Device

Once your license suspension is lifted, you will have to apply to get an interlock ignition device. You can apply for such a device through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This device will generally be installed in your car. It typically goes in the glove compartment or somewhere on the passenger’s side of your vehicle. The interlock ignition device will be connected to the ignition system in your engine.

The interlock ignition device will come with a handheld alcohol sensor, which is usually attached to a car’s dashboard. Every time that you want to start your car, you must first blow approximately 1.5 liters of air into this alcohol sensor unit. A limit will be set on this alcohol sensor unit, and if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is higher than this limit, the car will not start. The BAC limit will vary, however, it is usually somewhere between .02% and .04%. Your BAC limit is monitored by a computer chip within the device. If your BAC is over the limit set by the device, this information will be stored and can be used by law enforcement in future cases against you. The computer chip will also monitor if the device has been tampered with.

Rolling Tests

Some interlock ignition devices also give rolling tests. These are tests that occur at random intervals while you are driving. These tests will occur from about five to 30 minutes once the car has started. This is meant to prevent you from consuming alcohol while driving in your car. It also deters you from having a sober friend blow into the interlock ignition device to start the car.

If you do not provide a breath sample during a rolling test, or if your BAC is higher than the limit that the interlock ignition device is set at, a warning alarm will go off. This warning can vary from your headlights blinking to your car horn honking until you turn the ignition off. At this point, you will have to manually turn off the engine because the interlock ignition device cannot shut down your car once it has been started.

Maintenance

Maintenance is performed on your interlock ignition device monthly. The data logs in the device will be downloaded and recorded during this maintenance. The police will be able to monitor how many times you passed or failed the BAC test, as well as if you failed rolling tests. Therefore, if you have an interlock ignition device, make sure that you can pass the test every time you want to drive.