daphnec said:
My uncle was convicted of DUI sometime ago and for months after he had to breathe into some device before he could start his car. To make sure he hadn't had anything to drink. I thought it was a great idea. Added bonus? He hasn't had a drink in 3 years now. I know he had some trouble with the thing when he took cold medicines like dayquil liquid or something, but other than that I thought it was great. Heck, one guy in the town I grew up in lost his license and decided to just drive his lawn mower everywhere. Still drunk, but not in an "automobile". QUOTE]
There are three problems diagnosed by mechanics who have worked on cars w/ these devices:
1) Drunks can (and do) blow up a balloon before drinking. The balloon fits over the mechanism and allows the car to start--the balloon air is clean.
2) Friends/relatives/teens looking for $20 can and do blow into the device for previously mentioned drunk.
3) If the car does not start moving w/i 10 minutes, it shuts off--meaning every 10 minutes, the mechanic working on the car has to go blow into it or the engine quits. This is EXTREMELY ANNOYING! It cannot be disconnected for maitenance purposes.
I'm not sure what state you are in, but the Mister's son had one of these on his car.
1) The balloon thing wouldn't work, because it's not just air flow, but a vibration sound that you have to make in order for the thing to register.
2) Even if you could get someone to do that, the beeper can go off at any time that you are driving, so it wouldn't help a drunk driver to just start the car.
3) He routinely warmed up his car for 10 minutes or more. It's just that it will often beep shortly after starting, like I was saying above. The only time his car needed repair, the mechanic was fine with the situation.
It's certainly not foolproof, but the idea is to use good judgement as to whom is allowed to have it.