A NEW law has taken effect that will force drivers convicted of drunk driving to install an ignition interlock system or risk losing their license.
An enhanced version of Noah’s Law will start being enforced on Tuesday after a loophole in the legislation that allowed convicted drunk drivers to bypass a critical factor.
A loophole in the legislation, which was initially passed in 2016, allowed drivers not to install the ignition interlock system if they received a probation sentence before judgment.
In 2023, about two-thirds of the more than 100,000 driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated in Maryland received probation before judgment, according to WTOP-FM.
An ignition interlock device works like a breathalyzer test in a person’s car.
The driver has to blow into the device before they’re allowed to start their car.
If the blood alcohol content level is over the legal limit, the vehicle’s engine will not start.
Now, beginning Tuesday, all drivers convicted of alcohol-related offenses must get an interlock device installed in their car.
“It’s been a long, long journey, and it shouldn’t have been,” Richard Leotta, whose son Noah died in 2015 after being hit by a drunk driver, told NBC affiliate WRC-TV.
“I think about Noah all the time. I know he’s with me.”
Noah, a Montgomery County police officer, was struck and killed by an intoxicated driver on December 3, 2015, while working on the Holiday Alcohol Task Enforcement at Rockville Pike in Maryland.
The driver who killed Noah had a blood alcohol content level nearly three times the legal limit.
Leotta championed the bill, saying everyone convicted of drunk driving should have the device installed.
“Everybody’s going to get that tool. It’s just a tool to help make that change. And what a gift,” Leotta told WTOP-FM.
“I want people to know that even if they are caught impaired driving, they can change, and the interlock is going to help them make that change.”
Thousands of DUI offenders are expected to install the interlock program in their vehicles.
Experts believe drivers who have an ignition interlock device are less likely to drive drunk again in the future.
“We know the ignition interlock device works. We also know that it changes behavior and still allows them to get safely where they need to be,” Chrissy Nizer, an administrator of the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration, told WTOP-FM.
The non-profit group Mothers Against Drunk Drivers said ignition interlocks prevented more than 76,000 drinking and driving attempts in Maryland in 2023.
However, 150 people in Maryland die every year from drunk drivers, Nizer said.
Now that the enhanced law is in effect, Leotta believes it will save countless lives.
“Now, Noah will be on patrol, 24/7, saving more lives,” he told CBS affiliate WUSA.
“That’s what I’m happy about.”
What is Noah’s Law?
An enhanced version of Noah’s Law went into effect in Maryland on October 1, 2024.
What is Noah’s Law?
- The original law, which was named after Montgomery County police officer Noah Leotta, who was struck and killed by an intoxicated driver on December 3, 2015, was initially passed in 2016.
- But after several tweaks to the law, an exposed loophole allowed convicted drunk drivers to bypass having an ignition interlock system installed in their vehicle.
- If a driver receives a probation sentence before judgment, they are not mandated to install the system.
- Now, the enhanced will force all drivers convicted of alcohol-related offenses to install an interlock device in their car.
- An ignition interlock device works like a breathalyzer test in a person’s car.
- The driver has to blow into the device before they’re allowed to start their car.
- If the blood alcohol content level is over the legal limit, the vehicle’s engine will not start.
