AAA and NTSB Push for Increased IID Requirements

In year’s past, it has been shown that teens are most susceptible to drinking and driving on New Year’s Day, and this year AAA and NTSB are pushing for increased IID requirements as the holiday continues to rank as the most dangerous day for impaired driving accidents on roads, according to a new release from AAA.

Given the spike in impaired driving around the holidays, as well as commending recent efforts from the National Transportation Safety Board to support all laws requiring ignition interlock devices after first DUI offenses, AAA confirmed its support for requiring IID’s for all convicted of DUI offenses.

AAA President and CEO Robert Darblenet cited the “2012 Traffic Safety Culture Index” conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety as indicating nearly 80 percent of drivers also support such a law.

"AAA is not alone in its concern about impaired driving or strong support for tough policies for convicted drunk drivers," said Darblenet. "Evidence clearly shows that IIDs are more effective than other methods at reducing re-arrest among convicted drunk drivers and keeping them off the road.”

According to the traffic safety survey, more than nine in 10 drivers consider it a serious threat to their personal safety when others drink and drive, and nearly all (97 percent) surveyed find it unacceptable for a driver to get behind the wheel when they have had too much to drink. 

"Technologies, such as ignition interlocks, will reduce alcohol-related crashes on our nation's roadways. We look forward to working alongside AAA and its clubs to eliminate the nation's top killer on our roadways—impaired driving," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman.