Petition - Make Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices Compulsory to Stop Drink Driving

I started this petition just now. I am interested in knowing your opinion on this. Do you think we should make alcohol ignition interlock devices mandatory? Please read before voting here, sign the petition if you agree and leave comments. Thanks.
https://www.change.org/p/everyone-make-alcohol-ignition-inte…

Edit: Alright that didnt take long to get the votes rolling. I hadnt expected it to be a overwhelming Yes or No, I simply wasnt sure and was curious to check out the opinions.
I should address some of the very common comments here:

  • How does this system tell that the person who blew in there is the person driving? Or that it's not blown in by balloon? Or via a pipe blown by the passenger?
    The current devices are not equipped with facial recognition, but clearly we have good facial recognition technology in our phones for years now. If fitting these devices was driven by legislation, the devices that would be installed will have facial recognition to counter all of the above hacks.

  • What happens when the device asks for a "during trip" test sample and you refuse? Does the device disable the vehicle while travelling at 110kph?
    No. If you fail a running test then it will sound the alarm or horn and flash lights until you stop driving. The car will keep running so you can pull over.

  • In the future it may become a cost effective technology, but then futile because autonomous vehicles will solve these concerns.
    I disagree that self driving cars will become common so quickly. The infrastructure needed to get automated cars to work at their best is massive. 5G and 6G are going to help cars communicate with each other, but they will also need to be connected to the "grid" itself - the cars will need to know when there's an accident on the way, they need to be connected to all signals to know whether they are red, yellow or green and make appropriate decisions. Its a LOT of work still to be done for automated cars to become a common reality.
    Also, I really dont think people are simply going to give up driving. Car/motorcycle enthusiasts will resist automated cars, I guarantee it.
    Additionally it is only going to need a few tragic accidents where automated cars killed children or people and you'll see growing resistance to them.

Poll Options expired

  • 56
    Yes
  • 867
    No
  • 5
    Not sure

Comments

  • +67

    who's paying ?

    and the device needs maintenance / calibration every XX months ?

    • +38

      How easy is it to bypass?

      Is it as easy as blowing up a balloon and leave it in car to use later after a night of punishing the liver?

      Who benefits financially? A corrupt company and marginal seat Liberal?

      • +1

        A camera is fitted as well to check.

        • +6

          A camera is fitted as well to check.

          That creates the issue of privacy who can see the feed? when can they see it (e.g after court ruling, etc.)?

      • +2

        Not very easy. They want you to blow, then suck, and will randomly get you to retest while driving.

        Electrically bypass? Probably quite simple.

        • +25

          They want you to blow, then suck

          And how good are you at that?

          schoolgirl giggles

      • just pay a sober patron in the put $10 to blow in it for you, then off you go.

        • It gets you to redo it while driving.

          • @brendanm: Hmmmm

            • +1

              @ripprind: Hmmmm what?

              • @brendanm: that's the sound the passenger will make when they lean over to blow . . . on the interlock

          • +10

            @brendanm: Do we need yet more distraction to the driver?

            • @ddhar: Apparently so. Better than them being drunk I suppose.

        • +30

          Who would have thought one can make a killing blowing all night at the carpark of the local tavern.

        • If people take this up, shame on them

      • i know this lady she get her 8 year old to blow in it.

        • +3

          i know this guy he …ohh wait

      • Not so easy: My mate had to have one fitted, only 2 makers, measures a large range of parameters and stores it in internal memory. Periodic read outs will quickly show if a cheat attempt was made.
        Personally I would prefer better theft protection measures and after one has had a conviction perhaps a device where the license needs to be tapped and its trips logged for a certain period.

        Sadly alcohol is still the killer number one.

    • You and I are. Either through government subsidies (from taxpayers), or every car owner.

      And as you mention, the devices must be calibrated every 6 months to maintain accuracy. Can't use cheap MEMS sensors either, as they deliver incredibly high readings after using substances that contain no alcohol, like toothpaste. The devices have to be fuel cell based.

      Don't forget that you'll need to deliver multiple tests during your drive too. This is to prevent a sober 'friend' blowing into the device for you so the car starts up.

      • -2

        I see a market for stoners like me to sell bagged breath… $10 for 10 bags.

        • why? So we can get done for drug driving instead you idiot? How about we have more random drug testing to keep (profanity) like this off the road

          • +1

            @sauce2k6: I did write another word which it autocorrected to stoners but be abusive man. You do you.

    • +9

      Another do-gooder that expects everyone else to pay

      And suggests that WE are all offenders and need to have this device.

    • +1

      The driver pays. It becomes another part of your car that needs to be serviced and maintained, just like your stoplight or brake pads.

  • +73

    Lol.. that's just stupid. Nanny state attitude at it's finest.

    • -6

      So you not supposed to use a phone or do anything else distracting while driving but we introduce this contraption?!
      Or would we have to stop the car to do another test during the trip?

      BS! I predict that this rediculous idea will save some lives, which will be offset by the amount of suicides produced by living in an ever more controlled police state.

  • +9

    It is very hard to be proactive in this area. We also don't know if alcohol was the only contributing drug in this circumstance. A lot of people on other substances, some of them prescribed, cause death on our roads. An alcohol interlock will not stop those people.

  • +6

    Voted no because I think it's pointless and there's simply no way a policy like this would ever get off the ground. Too many "nanny state" people

  • +38

    I don't drink and drive, why should I pay for something like that?

    What's to stop someone's passenger, or a complete stranger, blowing into the system for them?

    • What's to stop someone's passenger, or a complete stranger, blowing into the system for them?

      According to VicRoads:

      Your alcohol interlock has a camera that takes pictures during each trip, such as when you blow into the interlock to start the vehicle or when taking a breath test after the vehicle starts. It’s very important that all drivers blow into the alcohol interlock when requested so that the camera can take a clear full face image of the driver.

      • +3

        Face recognition though, or manually checked? Easy enough to manually check now, but imagine the manpower needed to manually check every driver on the road

        And face recognition can be fooled pretty easily on a few modern devices

        • Manually checked, I guess when you apply for the interlock to be removed, or if you fail a test.

          • +1

            @pjetson: From what I understand, it's checked by the company, who will then provide a print out of false matches to the Magistrate when the person goes to apply to have it removed (in VIC).

        • I wonder if someone could blow up a small balloon of air the night before (as suggested by orangetrain above), put it in their mouth before they enter the car, then pierce the balloon with their teeth (or some other method) while placing their mouth over/near the interlock?

    • Fear of a manslaughter charge perhaps, or whatever the charge is for assisting someone in a manslaughter. I'm sure the prosecutor will think of something.

  • -4

    I was most intrigued by these devices but at $2500 p/a or so (I vaguely recall that's the estimate provided in one of the FAQs), I don't think it's something which all taxpayers should have (or even all car buyers). I'm broadly supportive of a 0 BAC level since it removes ambiguity but to mandate installing these devices just seems oer the top. From a conceptual perspective under the current system, I actually like how it provides a 'way out' to maintain their ability to get around for those who have an offence but still keeping the community safe.

    • +17

      I'm against a 0% BAC for the opposite reason. It's very easy to blow over 0% without drinking any alcohol - orange juice can cause it, some common medicines can too, and depending on your gut bacteria, even bread.

      • +11

        and on 0% BAC, in the case we are all alluding too, the guy was miles over the limit, changing the barrier was never going to stop him, or the vast majority of cases where the person does not care one bit about the law, this guy didnt slip over the limit, he knowingly hurdled it

        Similar to constantly bring down speed limits when there are high speed accidents, the people speeding dont care and it just affects the rest of us.

        If there was a surge of accidents with people blowing 0.02 or some such then there could be an argument for it but it just simply isnt the case

      • +3

        Fair point. My sentiment wasn’t so much about trying to make it 0 BAC because I agree that sometimes anything can trigger it, but what I’ve always found confusing is how can they expect someone to know what their BAC level is at any point in time. If they say the limit is X or Y (measured either as a % or even in terms of standard drinks), it’s not like everyone can consistently apply it (since alcohol affects everyone differently) or reliably measure it in the same way as whether you’re exceeding the speed limit. There’s no easy answer unfortunately.

        • +2

          I agree with the ambiguity. One thing that really irks me is that when my older siblings were getting their licences it was routine to be able to go in to the police station and do a voluntary breatho to see if they could drive which helped them establish baselines for their own bodies, but it's no longer allowed, so the best I have to go on is shitty internet calculators or buyable breatho's that all explicitly say they are not accurate enough for court.
          Because of this I just self impose a 0% BA and just walk if I've had more than a beer. It's not that I don't think I'm fit to drive, I just don't trust the police equipment/system that is deliberately vague with what would ultimately be the end of my career, licence and really the quality of my life going forward.
          /rant

  • +71

    The government loves people like this. So simple minded.

    On the dash next to that alcohol interlock, we'll have a drug interlock and next to that, a lack-of-sleep interlock and also an attitude interlock.

    It'll be like playing a harmonica each time you need to start the car.

    This is how we get these knee-jerk laws that makes the government look like they're doing something without actually doing anything.

    What we need are well thought out changes.

    • +9

      attitude interlock

      **** me dead! It would be like those ridiculous 'personality tests' that companies seem to be obsessed with using for hiring.

      • +20

        You're driving nowhere with that attitude buddy.

    • +1

      attitude interlock.

      Haha, that'd easily weed out all the teenage P-Platers

      In that case, bring it on!!! lol

    • +12

      Don't forget the Captcha - don't want any drunk/stoned, sleepy, cranky robots behind the wheel.

      Full disclosure : I am not a robot, fellow meatsacks.

      • +1

        maybe replace all that with IQ testing device.

        • Ooh, yes please!

          • @D C: Need to pass EQ test, first.

            • @Ulysses31:

              pass EQ test, first.

              And we'll be here on Monday to install your testing device. Drive safe now!

      • +4

        Are you human?
        "Negative, I am a meat popsicle"

        • How dare you say that

          Now I'm in the mood to watch the 5th element

    • +38

      How can you be opposed to such a game changing instrument?

      Think of the innocent children!

      This device will literally reduce the number of drunk drivers and potentially save millions on disabilty and medicare funds.

      If you'd like to talk money, I ask you, how much is an innocent life worth? We shouldn't be contemplating if we can afford to implement this technological advancement, we should understand that we cannot afford not to!

      Anyone opposed to this idea is either a drunkard motorist or does not treasure human life.

      We must act now,
      Major shareholder of interlock device company.

      • +3

        That was GOLD sir. Really got me at the end.

      • +2

        I’m reasonably new on this site, but I was quite proud to have read enough of your posts to guess the ending :p. Solid gold!

      • -1

        Lol a bullet for the injured and the person who hit them is a cheaper method. We are at 2.5 deaths per birth, we can afford some more deaths.

        • +1

          We are at 2.5 deaths per birth.

          Sir, that would require some to die multi deaths.

      • +1

        This is a terrible idea.
        But! If you pay me royalties for every device sold, I will spruik this spiel and have it made into law.

        Sincerely,
        Politician.

        • Ah, may I reword your proposition to minimise any untoward remarks and incriminating language. We wouldn't want a fine politician such as yourself to be charged with allegedly accepting bribes.

          This is an excellent idea!

          I cannot wait to share your offer at our next meeting. It is most generous. Thank you.

          Of course, such a monumental improvement will require significant political will. I suggest we first issue a survey and once implemented, we retain a PR specialist to ensure continued good faith in the device. I will make the necessary arrangements for your offer to move forward.

          To safety, to life,
          Politician

  • +19

    No thanks. I'm pretty right for government intervention in my life at the moment. Thanks for the offer though.

  • +3

    Probably the focus should be on deterring repeat drink driving offence

  • +7

    Change.org is a multimillion dollar for-profit organisation that harvests and sells off users data. The petitions literally mean nothing. You're wasting your time.

    • You're wasting your time.

      Well, that and the fact it's had 2 signatures (1 being OP), and the "No" votes on here tally 34 at the time of writing this ;)

      • 2:129 at the moment.

      • +2

        We should go on and support the Random Ozbargainer.

        See if we can get more hearts on his comment than people signing for his petition :P

        • Dammit it's been deleted

    • +1

      but, but, i spent 35 seconds of my life following a link, im politically active

  • +1

    we want to see this technology made mandatory for all cars

    You won't get many votes with this requisite. You might have a better change if it applies to only repeat offenders.

  • +4

    I started this petition just now. I am interested in knowing your opinion on this

    now you know what every one thinks.

  • +1

    If it's the people who sign yes to this petition and not the government who are paying for it then I am fine with it being compulsory.

  • -7

    Can we also have a device that knows the speed limit of a road and blocks the car from speeding?

    • +3

      There was a rule being tossed about that all new vehicle sold in the EU had to have a black-box installed that the police could tap into at any time and get your driving history and that insurance could use to determine what to charge you for insurance.

      I made a post about it last year… So, that technology will filter down to Australia, eventually if implemented.

    • -1

      Can we also have a device that knows the speed limit of a road and blocks the car from speeding?

      Like those ones that are 'supposed' to limit trucks to 100kph?

      • Oh, this old chestnut…

        Not every truck has one, older trucks don’t usually have them and they only limit the top speed of the truck, not to the speed limit they are in.

        And people are usually comparing it to their cars speedo that reads anywhere up to 10% faster than what the car is actually going.

    • -4

      Not sure why you got negged. There's merits to the suggestions.

      Sounds like people doesn't wish to be stopped from speeding in Australia as it's unAustralian.

      • Correct. How would you overtake to start with?

      • +9

        Some of us appreciate whatever little liberty we have remaining.

        If we wanted to be under glorious leader's watchful eye, we would have moved to some shithole communist dictatorship utopia.

        • -2

          Like the liberty of getting drunk and smashing into little kids?

          • +2

            @berry580: Maybe you cannot seperate the two. Most of us can.

      • +1

        I'd stop speeding on highways if they would raise the damn limit to 130km/h already like the roads are designed for.

      • -4

        It sure does seem that way.

        More people have died in Victoria so far in 2020 than those in Australia that have Coronavirus, but hey, let’s not worry about their lives because I wanna speed!

  • -1

    Yeah, that's not going to work. Bottle of compressed air in the car, regulate it, blow it down the tube, drive your car ??? profit!!

  • what's next drugs/fatigue?

    how would you be able to test this.
    you have to solve a crossword puzzle to pass the fatigue competencies

    • +1

      I can't do them at my most alert lol

  • +6

    guys I am also starting a petition: a televised hunger games for the drivers who are caught drink driving. this Reduce drink driving and provide entertainment! I see this as an absolute win!

    • +1

      Wouldn't work. I would take up drink driving, just to get on the show, just to slaughter other drink drivers! :D

    • +1

      And the losers bodies could be cooked on Australia's next top canable cook.

    • Might backfire. People will do anything to get on TV and be famous these days.

      • blur their faces and bleep out any mention of names

  • +5

    How's get (profanity) sound?

    • If that began with an F it sounds good to me.

  • +2

    Let’s get to 100!

    We're almost there, 76 so far.

    • +1

      Yay, we surpassed it!

      • +2

        As a community, I think we could achieve great things.

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