House Bill 1789, adopted in April of 2011, focused on issues ranging from ignition interlock laws, to DUI penalty increases to the creation of state and federally funded “DUI courts”. Starting on September 1, 2011, changes to the existing Washington Ignition Interlock laws take effect. One of these changes will potentially reduce the amount of time an individual will have to keep an ignition interlock device (IID) installed on his or her vehicle. The others however, will increase the scenarios in which a person will be required to have an ignition interlock device installed.
One positive change enacted with this law is that for incidents occurring on or after September 1st, a driver will be given day to day credit for all preconviction use of an ignition interlock. This credit would go toward any DOL mandated use of an IID based upon a DUI or DUI related conviction pursuant to RCW 46.20.720(3). This means that if a person either voluntarily or as part of a pretrial court order installs an ignition interlock device in his vehicle, should he be ultimately convicted of an offense that requires an IID, he will be given credit toward that requirement for the amount of time he can prove he had the device installed.
HB 1798 also increased the number of situations in which an IID will now be required. Also beginning September 1st, anyone convicted of either reckless driving or negligent driving in the first degree, where the original charge was DUI, will be required to install an IID for six months if that person has a prior offense within seven years of the incident date. The original house bill sought to make this a requirement on even first offense reductions which gives some insight into where the law is likely heading. The new law also mandates that an IID be required on all deferred prosecutions, even those not based on alcohol related incidents and where the individual enters a mental health deferred prosecution. Further, the IID order on alcohol dependency deferred prosecutions will be for one, five, or ten years depending on the number of previous IID orders that had been in place per 46.20.720(3).
Time to buy stock in ignition interlock companies.