In the New York State Senate Transportation Committee, Advocates supports advancing Senate Bill (S.) 2517/Assembly Bill (A.) 2703 to upgrade the ignition interlock device (IID) law to require IID use by convicted Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) offenders as a condition of license reinstatement and close a loophole in current law to curb drunk driving.
Drunk driving is a deadly and costly threat to New York families. In 2024, 300 people were needlessly killed in drunk driving crashes in New York, accounting for 27 percent of traffic fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Tragic, preventable crashes also created a national financial burden of $69 billion in economic costs in 2019. When updated for inflation only, that equates to $89.2 billion in 2026 dollars.
While New York mandates IID use for all DWI offenders as a condition of probation or conditional discharge, the IID mandate can be evaded by waiting out the term or by exploiting the “good cause” exception for people who do not own a vehicle by transferring a vehicle prior to sentencing. A. 2703/S. 2517 remedies these problems by requiring regular use of an IID for at least six months, on all vehicles owned or operated by the offender, as a condition for license reinstatement and by narrowing the “good cause” exception to prevent abuse.
The American public strongly agrees that the use of IIDs is needed to address this public health crisis. Polling shows 69 to 88 percent of Americans support requiring ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk driving offenders, even if it’s their first conviction. Furthermore, 82 percent of drunk driving offenders themselves believe the IID was effective in preventing them from driving after drinking.
Read the full letter here.
Advocates previously wrote a letter of support to the Assembly bill sponsor in January.