Blowing Into the Device Before Starting the Engine: Mandatory Installation for Repeat DUI Offenders

〈Anchor〉

Drivers whose licenses were revoked for habitual drunk driving and are now getting them reissued will be legally required to install a device that checks whether the driver has been drinking. While this is expected to help prevent repeat offenses, experts advise that various supplementary measures must be implemented alongside it.

Reporter Kim Gyu-ri.

〈Reporter〉

A passenger car driving the wrong way inside a tunnel crashes head-on into an oncoming van, and a vehicle that suddenly swerves veers onto a sidewalk before plunging downward.

These incidents were caused by drivers with a history of drunk driving who got behind the wheel after drinking again.

Over the past decade, the repeat offense rate for drunk driving has hovered around 44 percent. Although the Yoon Chang-ho Act, which strengthened penalties for drunk driving, was implemented during this period, there has been no significant change.

To curb recurring drunk driving, a system has officially gone into effect issuing driver's licenses on the condition that an ignition interlock device is installed.

The number of targeted individuals reaches 8,000 annually.

[Kang Su-cheol / Head of Traffic Safety Headquarters, Korea Road Traffic Authority: The targets are individuals who have driven under the influence twice or more within the past 5 years. The requirement must be maintained for the duration of the disqualification period—whether it is 2 years or 5 years—before obtaining a normal driver's license....]

Vehicles equipped with this device can only start if the driver blows into the device and no alcohol is detected.

If someone blows into the anti-drunk driving device after drinking, a warning sound and the message 'fail' appear, and even if they try to start the engine, the vehicle does not budge an inch.

However, there is little difference between the cost of installing the device and the fines for driving an unequipped vehicle.

[Gong Dae-sik / Anyang, Gyeonggi Province: If the fine is similar to the price of the machine, those people might think, 'Why bother installing it? I might as well just not install it and hope I don't get caught.']

Research results also indicate that once the installation period for the prevention device ends, the repeat offense rate rises again.

[Lee Hae-guk / Professor of Psychiatry, Catholic University of Korea: People who engage in habitual drunk driving to the extent of needing this device installed have a probability of nearly 90 percent or higher of having a disease called alcohol use disorder....]

Experts point out that for repeat drunk drivers, it is necessary to not only use prevention devices but also diagnose the severity of alcohol abuse and concurrently provide specialized related treatment.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Reported by Kim Seung-tae | Video by Shin Seeun | Graphics by Lee Jong-jung, Yeji, and Kang Yoon-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.