In an effort to reduce the number of people who choose to drink and drive, many states - including Wisconsin - have adopted a number of laws and regulations over the decades to deter people from breaking the law. Most states now have in place some version of a program that requires the use of an ignition interlock device (IID) in the vehicles of DUI offenders. In Wisconsin, 2010 marked the first year mandatory IID requirements went into effect. IIDs are now required for all repeat OWI offenders, all chemical test refusals, and all first-time DUIs in which the driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is more than .15.

What is an Ignition Interlock Device?

An IID is a small electronic device that is wired into your vehicle’s ignition system. Before you are able to start the vehicle, you must blow into the device, which will then determine your BAC. In Wisconsin, if your BAC is over .02, the vehicle will not start. The device will allow you to have three attempts in five minutes for each requested breath sample. After a vehicle starts, the device will prompt you for other samples at various intervals while the engine is running. The date, time, and BAC of each and every sample is recorded and stored.

While law enforcement has cracked down on drunk driving for the past few decades, in Wisconsin and in every state, operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) is still a common problem. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 613 motor vehicle traffic fatalities in Wisconsin in 2017 and 38 percent of those involved alcohol in some way. 

When you are pulled over for suspicion of OWI, the police officer will ask you to submit to a chemical test to determine your blood-alcohol concentration (BAC). If you do not comply with the officer’s request to submit to a chemical test, you could face serious consequences.

Getting a call from the police department is rarely fun. When that call from the police is to inform you they have your teenager in custody, it can be devastating. 

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, alcohol is the most widely used drug among teenagers, even though it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to consume alcohol. Though underage DUI incidents have decreased over the past few years, it is still a problem with serious consequences.

There are multiple ways you can be charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) in Wisconsin, and all of them have serious consequences. You be charged with OWI if your blood-alcohol content is more than .08, if you have a detectable amount of an intoxicant or restricted controlled substance in your blood, or if you are under the influence of any drug or controlled substance.

It is never a good idea to get behind the wheel if you have had too much alcohol, or if you have taken illegal or prescription drugs that can negatively impact your ability to drive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported about 32 percent of all fatal Wisconsin traffic accidents in 2016 were alcohol-related. 

If you are convicted of an OWI, you may face a lengthy license suspension or revocation. You could offset that inconvenience with an occupational license. Here are the details: 

Police officers in Wisconsin must have substantial evidence to actually arrest someone for operating while intoxicated (OWI). There are a few things an officer may use to do this, and one common procedure is to request the completion of field sobriety tests, so they can gauge whether a driver is intoxicated while driving. 

The types of field sobriety tests used can differ from state to state, and sometimes between police departments and jurisdictions, but in general, a battery of three standardized tests is used. These tests are approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as being accurate a majority of the time: