The SGA passed a resolution last night in support of Noah’s Law, which would require state residents convicted of driving under the influence to install ignition interlock devices in their vehicles for at least six months following their arrest.
The vote was 16-0 with no abstentions.
“I’m thrilled that young people are taking drunk driving seriously,” said Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery), one of the sponsors of the bill.
In 2013, Maryland officers arrested 1,033 people between the ages of 15 and 20 for impaired driving, according to the Maryland Vehicle Administration. Overall, impaired driving accidents affect drivers ages 21 to 29 more than any other age group, accounting for about 30 percent of all drivers involved, injured or killed.
An ignition interlock device is a breath tester that prevents a car from starting if the driver’s breath has an elevated alcohol level.
State law currently requires repeat DUI offenders or first-time offenders with a blood alcohol level above .15 percent to install the technology, but does not require offenders in the .08 to .14 range to do so. The bill would mandate ignition interlock devices in all DUI arrests and double the time for which offenders’ licenses are suspended.
Raskin introduced the bill with Del. Ben Kramer (D-Montgomery) following the death of Montgomery County Police officer Noah Leotta in December. A car struck Leotta as he was returning to his cruiser from a different DUI arrest in Bethesda.
The Student Government Association’s Ellicott community representative, Mihir Khetarpal, a sophomore economics and government and politics major who works as an intern for Raskin, sponsored the SGA resolution supporting Noah’s Law.
“As sad as Officer Leotta’s death was, it brought to life this one issue that we need to solve, and brought to life a way that we can solve it,” Khetarpal said.
Twenty-five other states have already passed similar legislation, and the Centers for Disease Control has found the interlock systems can reduce instances of intoxicated driving by up to 70 percent when installed. Mothers Against Drunk Driving reported this year that interlock technology prevented 1.77 million instances of drunken driving.
“We simply cannot allow the forces of big liquor to prevail in the political context anymore,” Raskin said. “We’ve been legislating under the influence for too long.”
Noah’s Law addresses an issue that has long been a concern in the College Park community. In 2011, John Hoover, a student at this university, died in a drunken driving accident along with two other victims.
Senior psychology major Gabriela Arrazola Pulido attended Magruder High School with the three victims, who died when she was a junior at Magruder. Pulido sang at a 2014 drunken driving awareness concert hosted by this university’s Sigma Nu chapter and the Happiness Foundation.
“It’s nice because some of us are from Magruder, and we get to sing in honor of our classmates,” she said.
Leonardtown representative Adler Pruitt, a sophomore economics and government and politics major, said it was good to take a stand for an issue that affects many people.
“I was happy to see [the resolution] gain unanimous support. … Drunk driving has affected a lot of us,” Pruitt said. “Any piece of legislation that makes it safer is a good one.”
