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New Mexico House passes ’breathalyzer in every car’ bill
2004-02-18
Hat tip: Volokh Conspiracy. Edited for brevity.
Some state lawmakers are convinced they have the answer to solve the D.W.I. epidemic and want to require everyone on the road to take a breathalyzer test before they can start the engine of any vehicle.
I [hic!] hate thoshe things. Y'gotta start yer car b'fore y'can get drunk. Shink of all the gash that'sh washted...
Today, the proposal is one very large step closer to becoming law. A bill requiring an ignition interlock device be installed on every car, truck, bus or motorcycle in New Mexico passed the state house today and is on its way to the senate. Representative Ken Martinez introduced the bill and says he was pleasantly surprised with today’s vote. “I think it’s an opportunity for N.M. to lead on this issue and be a solution state and not a problem state,” says Martinez. As for who will pay for the devices? KRQE News 13 has learned there is another proposed bill that would give people a tax credit for the amount of the device. The senate has until Thursday to vote on the bill. If the bill survives and is signed by the governor, New Mexico would be the only state in the country with such a law.
And the nanny state marches on...
Posted by:Dar

#15  Good one Dot. Sounds like the perp was a little dehydrated.

I heard a sta-tistp-tpic about how half the traffic accidents involve alcohol. By a mathomatic deduction I found that half the accidents do not involve alcohol. I've also noted that about half the drivers I know do drink. Not that they are drunk and driving as a rule. And those that I've known who have had accidents, due to their own negligence, well I can think of only one. And he was still in high school at the time and it was dead mans corner.
Posted by: Lucky   2004-2-19 12:07:57 AM  

#14  Could be that NM's effort is related to an little encounter I had in Gallup some years ago. I was gassing up the car at a large truckstop on the Interstate when a local, fresh off the Reservation, tried to stick me up... He passed out in mid-threat. I finished and went inside and the woman at the register just laughed and said he was a "regular" and part of the "colorful" scenery of the area. So I paid for the gas and boogied on down the road. When I checked my rear-view mirror getting back on the service road, he was still lying in the driveway... being colorful. Mebbe he drives occassionally, too.
Posted by: .com   2004-2-18 9:12:45 PM  

#13  They will probably push this to other states. I consider it a victory that they didn't go for a urinalysis. At least this way my car won't smell funny when my daughter learns to drive.
Posted by: Super Hose   2004-2-18 8:03:45 PM  

#12  Its even *worse* if you (or someone close to you) get tagged by a drunk/stoned driver out on the road some night.
I have absolutly no compassion for people who drink and drive.
Saying that, this is not the way to do it -- too many ways around it and another inconvience for people who are responsible.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2004-2-18 7:56:57 PM  

#11  If it takes half the driving population of that state off the road, great. New Mexicans are crappy drivers anyway (go any distance on I-10 as proof).
Posted by: Pappy   2004-2-18 6:35:03 PM  

#10  Hooray more government regulation. Of course you will pay for the device and mainteneance too.
Posted by: dataman1   2004-2-18 6:13:43 PM  

#9  Hooray more government regulation. Of course you will pay for the device and mainteneance too.
Posted by: dataman1   2004-2-18 6:13:40 PM  

#8  Rivrdog -- does New Mexico have mandatory exhaust testing? If so, they'll just add a test of the breathalyzer to that procedure.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-2-18 5:20:48 PM  

#7  If this makes it into law and past the usual challenges (perfect for the ACLU, I should think), there will be technical work-arounds available immediately. First, there is the designated blower. The machine will never be canny enough to determine who is behind the wheel and who just blew into the machine. Then there is the possibility of using stored air via a tank and regulator. The bypassing of the device will be a hacker's paradise, with PROM chips available immediately. And so on and so forth. And Gov Richardson has a ton of extra $$$ to police this new requirement? I doubt it.

Fuggeddabbouddidd. Ain't gonna happen.
Posted by: Rivrdog   2004-2-18 4:56:26 PM  

#6  But New Mexicos roads will finally be safe from Ted kennedy. Seiously DUIs are a serrious problem and nothing to joke about. Just ask someone who has been tagged or is married to someones who has. The fines are nothing compared to the job the insurance companies do on you. But at the same time if you are out and have had one or two too many all too often it is impossible to get a cab or a ride.
Posted by: Cheddarhead   2004-2-18 4:30:14 PM  

#5  Wouldn't an inflatable babe work? Just curious, I like science.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-2-18 4:29:38 PM  

#4  ed - the country would come to a standstill. But I like it!
Posted by: B   2004-2-18 4:24:50 PM  

#3  I propose all legislators must undergo a breathalyzer test before writing any legislation. Lie detector and sanity tests must also be mandatory.
Posted by: ed   2004-2-18 4:12:45 PM  

#2  Soon, every car in New Mexico will be registered in Texas, Arizona, or Colorado. There will be booming business in rental mail boxes along the borders, as well as mail-forwarding services.

At the least, they'll never see another rental car or truck registered in their state again.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-2-18 3:24:13 PM  

#1  Fourth Amendment? What Fourth Amendment?
Posted by: Anonymous   2004-2-18 3:19:51 PM  

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