Anchorage Daily News

Rodney Hebert rides his bike or walks to his daily AA meetings when he can't get a ride from a friend.

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"They took my license away for the rest of my natural life, which is kind of a life sentence," said Hebert, 44, who has received eight DUIs since the age of 14. He said he practically started drinking when he "was a fetus" but has been sober for the last six years.

"It's difficult for me to approach a girl and say, 'Would you like to go out, but you have to pick me up or I'll pick you up in a taxicab,' " he said.

Two years ago, a home-school teacher, Narda Butler, met Hebert at the Downtown Soup Kitchen and thought he and other DUI felons who have found sobriety deserved a chance to legally drive again.

She started doing research on DUIs and appealed to her legislator to pass a bill that would help people like Hebert.

The bill was signed into law Monday. For now, it applies only to DUI misdemeanor offenders. The law requires them to install ignition interlock devices in their cars, making it impossible to drive unless they have a blood alcohol level of 0.025 or below (much lower than the legal limit of 0.08). For a 200-pound man, that's about one drink in an hour.

Instead of first-, second- and, occasionally, third-time offenders receiving a limited license that restricts their driving from home to work, they can drive anywhere -- as long as they pass the test.

"What we were finding was that people would stop at a bar on the way home from work," said Rep. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, sponsor of the bill. "So what this bill does is it forces us to look at DUIs differently in the sense that we don't care where they drive, we just want to make sure they drive sober."

First-time DUI misdemeanor offenders must use the device for at least 12 months; second-time misdemeanor offenders, at least 24 months; and third-time offenders, at least 36 months. Among third-time offenders, only those who have received their DUIs over a 10-year period or longer are eligible.

Butler would like to see it expanded to include felony DUI offenders like Hebert.

Many times, she says, people convicted of felony DUIs who are not legally licensed to drive do continue to drink and drive.

"If we really want to improve public safety we should include the largest group of potential offenders," Butler said. "I have fought (for) that every step of the way -- but this is a great first step."

Offenders pay for the device's $100 installation and the $125 monthly rental fee.

Once the device -- about the size of a large cell phone -- is installed, offenders must perform a "blow hum" for several seconds before the engine will start. If their blood alcohol level is too high, the car won't run. If they don't pass in four minutes, the car will begin honking loudly until the person passes the test or turns the car off.

"They learn that they can't party until three in the morning and go to work at six," said Babette Miller, owner of Smart Start of Alaska Inc., which sells and rents ignition interlock devices.

"I just tell them, look, it's just teaching you not to drink and drive, and that's what it's there for," Miller said. "They basically got the cop in their car."

After the initial breath sample, the device will beep and request additional breath samples randomly to make sure the driver is still sober. Miller advises drivers to pull over once the beeping begins. They have four minutes to do so before the car starts honking. If the offender does not pass subsequent tests, the cars will turn off when pulled over.

Some devices also have cameras attached that take pictures of the driver every few minutes. The photos are retrieved electronically at monthly check ups and sent to authorities overseeing the offender's sentence.

It is possible for someone to get someone sober to pass the test for them, said Kimberly Scott, owner of Alaska Monitoring System, which also installs the device.

"If they get caught, they're looking at jail time," Scott said. "I try to forewarn people."

Miller said it comes down to common sense.

"Most people will not allow a drunk to drive when they're sober," she said.

Even though Hebert cannot benefit from the new bill, he does hope for an expansion in the future and said many people will benefit from it as it stands, especially single parents.

"You can take someone's driver's license away and they're still going to drive," he said. "This is just giving them an opportunity to do it legally."

Municipal prosecutor Eric Croft said he thinks the ignition interlock device has a lot of potential.

"I think that it's a tool for first- and second-time offenders," he said. "By the time they get to a third, we ought to be largely locking them up."

In 2007, there were just over 1,900 DUI arrests in Anchorage.

The number of DUI arrests in 2008 is dramatically higher than it was at this time last year, largely due to additional DUI enforcement made possible by grants from the Alaska Highway Safety Office, said Sgt. Matt Bloodgood of the Anchorage Police.

"If this pace continues, there will be 2,300 to 2,500 by the end of the year," he said.

The bill goes into effect Jan. 1.

Find Monique Newton online at adn.com/contact/mnewton or call 907-257-4469.

True or false: How to beat the system

Ignition interlock devices are designed to prevent drunk drivers from starting their cars. However, some offenders try to beat the system. Here are some ways that users tamper with the devices. But do they work?

• Use a short piece of a garden hose to connect a full balloon, air tank or can of compressed air to blow into the unit.

FALSE: The device only responds to warm, human breath with a "blow hum" tone that consists of a deep breath followed by a humming sound.

• Disconnect the device altogether and use alternate methods to start the car (pushing the vehicle and popping the clutch, using a screwdriver to short the starter).

TRUE: But the device can detect and record these methods of tampering. They will show up on the next routine check up, and the offender can be charged with a misdemeanor.

• Have a sober passenger blow into the device.

TRUE: But both the passenger and offender can be charged with a misdemeanor for this. And if the device has a camera, it will record images of the person that will be seen at the next routine check up.

• Borrow and drive a car that's not equipped with a device.

TRUE: But this is illegal and the offender can be charged with a misdemeanor if caught.

About the law

• When does it go into effect? Jan. 1

• Who does it affect? All first- and second-time misdemeanor DUI offenders and some third-time DUI offenders with three DUIs in 10 years or more

• How long must offenders use the device?

First offense -- Minimum of 12 months after license reinstated

Second offense -- Minimum of 24 months after license reinstated

Third offense -- Minimum of 36 months after license reinstated

• Who else does this affect? Anyone who tampers with an ignition interlock device or rents a vehicle to someone who is required to use one can be charged with a misdemeanor.

• Does this help lower DUI offenders' insurance rates? No. Geico says a DUI can mean a 15 to 40 percent increase in a driver's insurance rate. Both Geico and Allstate say an interlock device won't lower that rate.

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