[01/29/01] It will be at least a year before people convicted of DUI in Warren County will have to breathe into a tube that will determine if they are too drunk to drive.

Under the law that went into effect Sept. 1, drivers convicted of second- or third-offense DUI can be ordered by a judge to install a device that measures blood-alcohol level.

The device works by locking the ignition switch of the car until the driver blows air into a tube. The machine measures the level of alcohol in the person’s breath and will not unlock the ignition if the level exceeds set amounts, which are determined by the judge.

Other options in the law are impoundment or disablement of any vehicles registered to the person convicted of second or third DUI.

Warren Strain, director of pubic affairs for the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, said the interlock device would be installed after the one-year suspension of the driver’s license, which is a condition of the law, is lifted.

“We are in favor of anything that helps keep drunk drivers off the road,” Strain said. “It remains to be seen how many judges will use it.”

The interlock device can be ordered by the judge only if other licensed drivers living in the household are dependent upon the vehicle.

The cost of installing and maintaining the device would be paid by the offender.

The Highway Patrol chooses the companies that can install and maintain the blood-alcohol measuring devices, Strain said.

The penalty for having a person other than the driver use the interlock device to start the car is up to one year in jail and a $250 to $1,000 fine.

The law also requires that people convicted of DUI third-offense spend at least one year in prison.

District Attorney Gil Martin, whose office prosecutes third-offense DUIs, said he thinks the Legislature had good intentions but the law is not very practical.

“It makes me worried about further prison overcrowding and, unfortunately, this is also cutting off our options for third-offense violators,” Martin said.

Before Sept. 1, prosecutors could sentence people convicted of felony DUI to complete an alcohol treatment program or house arrest.

In 1999, 421 people were convicted of DUI in Warren County.

No one in Warren County has been sentenced under the new DUI laws but, Martin said, some DUI third-offense cases could be presented to the Warren County grand jury, which convenes Monday.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said the new laws won’t really affect the law enforcement end of dealing with drunk driving.

“This law deals more with what happens after conviction,” Pace said. “You would hope that anything that raises the stakes of punishment would work as a deterrent to people.”