Program Goals/Target Population
The Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device Program (BAIID) requires installation of ignition interlock devices in motor vehicles to test the breath–alcohol level of drivers convicted of alcohol-related traffic violations, to prohibit these individuals from starting and operating the vehicle. The program was piloted in 1994, and made permanent in 1998, with the goal of reducing the high rates of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol in Illinois. The program initially targeted persons with multiple DUI violations who were granted limited driving privileges (e.g., for employment, educational, or medical purposes) through a Monitoring Device Driving Permit during the suspension or revocation of their license. The state passed a law, which became effective in 2009, that expanded the use of BAIID to first-time DUI law violators. The goal of the BAIID program is to monitor people convicted of DUI to assist in their rehabilitation, while guaranteeing public safety.
Program Components
The BAIID office coordinates the program and is notified by the administrative hearings office when an individual has been granted an MDDP with a BAIID. Participants are required to pay for all costs associated with this program (a fund for indigent individuals is also available). Once violators have fulfilled the conditions of the MDDP and paid their fees, they are mailed a map that lists all of the BAIID installation sites within Illinois. Participants have 14 days to have the device installed. Then when the device has been installed, vendors notify the office. Participants can legally drive only those vehicles that have a BAIID installed.
The interlock connects the vehicle’s ignition system to a breath analyzer. Before the persons can start the car, the individual must breathe into the device, which is calibrated to “lock” the ignition if the breath alcohol level exceeds a preprogrammed level (0.05). The devices also are programmed for “rolling retests” at intervals while the car is in operation. If the driver fails one of these tests, the device triggers the horn and flashing lights, which will continue to attract notice until the car is turned off.
Vendors provide periodic updates to the BAIID office regarding the performance of individuals using the BAIID. These updates are scrutinized to detect evidence of attempts to tamper with the device or of violators’ attempts to start the vehicle with alcohol in their system. If evidence is found, a letter of inquiry is sent to the violator requesting specifics about the incident. BAIIDs are removed 1 year after installation.
Program Theory
To the extent that a theory grounds the use of interlock devices, routine activity theory may apply (see Rauch et al. 2011). This theory predicts that crime will increase when criminally motivated persons find suitable targets that lack capable guardians. The interlock device in this perspective acts as a way to remove a suitable target (a drivable car) from a motivated person. It also acts as a “guardian” to prevent the crime of operating a vehicle while under the influence.
Some researchers also refer to learning theory to explain the presence or absence of changed behavior after the device is removed from the vehicle (see Rauch et al. 2011). The theory suggests that persons have to “unlearn” the drinking behavior and then have to be repeatedly “rewarded” by successful driving episodes (that is, not being caught while driving intoxicated). If the device is installed for too short of a period, the individuals do not have sufficient time to unlearn their previous behaviors. If the device is installed for a longer time, the driver is conditioned to learn about the negative effect (that drinking is “punished” by the inability to start the car).
