Ignition Interlock Device (IID)

An ignition interlock device prevents you from starting your vehicle unless you provide a breath test. Installing this device is mandatory after many California DUIs.

If you are convicted of a DUI in Los Angeles, the penalties don’t stop with just jail time and steep fines. You can also be ordered to complete a variety of “deterrent” steps that prevent you from driving drunk again. One of the most common of these steps is installing an ignition interlock device on your vehicle.

An ignition interlock device (IID) is like a Breathalyzer built right into your car. Whenever you attempt to start the car, it will require you to blow into a tube to provide a breath sample. The device analyzes the sample for traces of alcohol and estimated your blood alcohol concentration. If you have been drinking, the car won’t start.

Once you’ve started the car, the device will continue to request breath samples as you drive. It gives you several minutes to pull over if needed each time it requests a sample. If you don’t blow into the device, it will count as a “fail.” This data could be used against you to show a DUI probation violation.

If this is your first DUI, you may or may not be ordered to use an IID. If it’s your second, third, or subsequent DUI in a 10-year period, you will be ordered to use one.

Interlock devices are not free. You will pay to have it installed and regular “calibration” fees every two months. You need to put an additional IID on every vehicle you own. Learn more about IID’s and their costs here: What is an interlock device, and how does it work in the state of California?

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