MADD SC Pushing Key Ignition Interlock Bill

MADD SC needs your help in supporting drunk driving legislation that will save lives and would help make South Carolina a leader in the fight against drunk driving. S 982 is working its way through the Senate, so now is the time to make your voice heard.

MADD Executive Director Steven Burritt testified on the importance of the bill before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, where it received a favorable report of 3 to 0. There was strong media coverage of the bill’s first possible hearing in the full Judiciary Committee, but the committee did not proceed far enough on the agenda for it to be heard that day. Please click here to email your elected officials to urge them to support S 982 by using this online form letter. Taking action is quick and easy, you input your name, address and press submit. Feel free to personalize your letter too!

Should this legislation pass, South Carolina would become the 31st state in the country to require drunk drivers to use an ignition interlock. You may recall that with your help, South Carolina passed Emma’s Law in 2014 to require interlocks for all repeat and first-time offenders with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15 or greater. S 982 requires ALL convicted drunk drivers to use an interlock. This is MADD’s highest legislative priority!

Interlocks are already working to stop drunk driving in South Carolina. Over the past 11 years, interlocks have

prevented over 6,961 attempts to drive drunk in South Carolina. Imagine how many more attempts to drive drunk will be stopped by enacting an all-offender interlock law like S 982?

Interlocks have been shown to reduce repeat offenses by 67 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Recent studies have found all-offender interlock laws save more lives than states with subsequent offender laws by reducing drunk driving deaths by up to 15 percent. For more information on ignition interlocks, please visit madd.org/interlock. With your help, we can stop drunk driving in South Carolina. Please contact your lawmakers today!