Illinois' New Weapon Against Drunken Drivers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois has a new weapon in its arsenal against drunken drivers.
New DUI Weapon
The Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) is used to keep eligible DUI offenders from starting their cars if there's alcohol on their breath.
The driver pays the $1,500 yearly cost for BAIID.
WBBM Newsradio's Regine Schlesinger reports, Secretary of State Jesse White says any driver in the BAIID program also will have to have a camera, along with the device.
His aide, Susan McKinney, says it will leave no doubt who blew into the device.
"We see that someone blew a .08 [legally drunk] and they say, 'It wasn't me. It was my cousin.'
"Now, we'll be able to go to the pictures and look at them and say, 'Well, clearly it was you.'"
White says since the state expanded the BAIID program to include first time offenders, drunken driving deaths in Illinois have dropped by 24 percent.
