HANOVER TOWNSHIP -- If you are convicted of DUI in Pennsylvania, be prepared to have a device installed in your vehicle.
The state recently passed a law that will require ignition interlocks for many first-time offenders. The device will stop your car from starting if you've been drinking.
Newswatch 16 checked out a demonstration that showed how the interlock system works on Thursday.
People at the demonstration included a father who lost his daughter to a drunk driver. Chris Demko of Lancaster County is still mourning the death of his 18-year-old daughter Meredith. She was killed two years ago by a repeat drunk driver whose license was suspended.
"The crash was so horrific that she was trapped in the car and died after having her ribs and lungs crushed by the impact," Demko said.
Demko came to Kaschak's Foreign & American Auto near Nanticoke to talk about the state's new drunk driving law.
Most first-time offenders will have to have a device called an ignition interlock in their vehicle for at least a year. The repair shop in Hanover Township is one place that will install the device.
"This interrupts the vehicle's ignition system and requires you to take a successful test, showing there's no alcohol in your system before it will allow that ignition sequence to be completed, and you to start your car," said Brad Fralick of Intoxalock Ignition Interlock.
Pennsylvania joins 47 other states that already impose an interlock for first offenders. Officials hail the technology for stopping nearly two million drunk driving attempts nationwide.
"Those that are charged with DUI are suspended, that'll stop them from getting on the road," said Joe Regan, Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police.
"It's also a big benefit to the person who is the first-time offender in that he can still support his family or she can support her family by driving to work," said state Sen. John Rafferty, (R) Montgomery County.
PennDOT will be able to monitor ignition interlocks and know when it prevents drivers from starting the vehicle.
While the law was passed in May, officials say it will take at least a year for PennDOT to get the program up and running.
