New Mexico isn’t a state that’s content to sit back and watch citizens die from drunk driving crashes. There has been a steady stream of new bills coming in to improve driving while intoxicated (DWI) laws, and the latest two bills will toughen up ignition interlock laws and clamp down on an offender’s drinking.
HB 86 is the newest bill in New Mexico to pass the House of Representatives. It would require a convicted drunk driver to keep his or her ignition interlock for a length of time based on how drunk they were the night they were arrested. If passed, it will definitely be a case of the punishment fitting the crime.
The other bill, HB 30, would require anyone convicted for driving while intoxicated and who has a state issued ignition interlock license to be banned from purchasing alcohol. A line would be added to their driver’s license stating ‘No Alcohol Sales’ and that would let anyone who sees it, whether that be a server or grocery store, to know that the person may not purchase alcohol.
New Mexico has been working on their DWI laws since 2005, and it’s estimated that the state’s drunk driving deaths have decreased by 33% since the introduction of ignition interlock devices and strict laws. If you’re a first offender in New Mexico and you’re arrested for DWI, you’ll lose your driver’s license for a year, spend up to 90 days in jail, pay fines up to $500, and you must install an ignition interlock device in any vehicle you drive for one year.
Both of these bills are on their way to the Senate, and if passed, New Mexico roads will be much safer for all those who drive on them. For more information on ignition interlock devices in New Mexico, visit Guardian Interlock’s New Mexico state page.