Good Adulting and Your Ignition Interlock Device

Being an adult (adulting) isn’t easy, and when we add alcohol to our adult beverages, remaining responsible can be pretty tough. After a DUI or other drunk driving conviction, adulting gets a little harder, especially with all of the court obligations and possible ignition interlock requirement. On the bright side, once you get into the groove with your interlock, adulting becomes a whole lot easier. All you have to do is avoid common misconceptions about life with an ignition interlock after a DUI.

• Don’t drink and drive. This may seem like one of the more obvious, adult actions you could take, but some people don’t understand that the ignition interlock will not only stop them from another DUI, but it will report the attempt to the proper authorities, with more consequences for the effort.
• Don’t drive illegally. The ignition interlock may be frustrating, but it is the only way you can legally drive. When you’re caught driving without your device, you have very real penalties (like jail) in your future.
• Don’t ask friends or family to blow into your device. This is called circumventing the device, and you will be caught. Your other “adultier” friends could alert the authorities that you were asking for their help to circumvent the device. Your interlock will realize, during a rolling retest, that you are intoxicated and driving… and not the person who submitted the initial breath sample to get the car in motion.

Being an adult means that you’re supposed to do the right thing, even if you don’t want to. Being an adult with an ignition interlock device means that if you don’t do the right thing, you’re looking at an even tougher road to recovery after your DUI. Fortunately, it’s pretty simple to keep on adulting with an ignition interlock, you just have to remain sober when driving your own vehicle and only with the device installed.