Ok I would like a little bit of feedback I recent please guilty to dui in the state of Maryland if was my first offence. I was placed on probabtion for 18 months I blew .22 BAC at the time of the charge. They now have me on the interlock I have been on it for approximentally 3 months, I blew a fail a couple of days ago at first when starting my car it gave me a warn I can to find out later it was a .022, the rolling retest I failed come to find out it was around a.033 then it asked me to blow again I failed device locked me out and service lightcame on I was already in my driveway so I shut my car off this all happened around noon time I came inside was pissed off, went to get gas and food at 7 that night eveything was fine I passed,the next day I went and got it serviced, after the service I called my probabtion officer and explained to her the failed test, I asked her straight out is this a violation of my probabtion, she told me that she will not be violating me nor issuing a summons or warrant, however it is her job to right a report to the courts, this is what gets me confused what does she mean by that will the judge think I was drinking cause I wasn't that I know but after all the stories they have heard I won't be the first one to play that card.

It means the court ( judge) will determine if they want to revoke or have you brought back into court for some reason. Since you had three failures, did you have the device serviced and if so, did they find a error in it ?

But yes with three failures they may believe you were drinking.

The only person that can violate your probation is her and only her as the probation officer on your case. What she means is you okay from her side and can use her testimony for the new charge

Three blow failures when I first blewit registerd a warn , so I was allowed to start my car on the rolling retest approx 5 7 mints later it asked me to blow again it register fail it went through its waiting period I blew again it register fail I sat in my driveway at this point I was home it asked me to blow again it registered fail. The deivce then went into lockout mode and the service light came on. I shut off the car and went inside, when I went to get the device serviced 2 days after this I asked the guy what the BAC levels were he told me the warn BAC was .022 the rolling retest first blow was .033 the 15 mint waiting blow was .044 then the final test it was back to the .034, I know that I did use mouthwash and ate a blueberry muffin prior to starting my car dumb indeed but I have done it before witout any failed blows, the marylandMVA told me that they will extended my interlock for one month and that this month will not count, it only gave me one violation seeing this happen all within 20 minutes time, the mva here in Maryland will allow up to 3 violation on the 4th violation you are then removed from the program your license is suspended for 30 days at which after that time has expired you can enroll again, my thoughts our this I know I wasn't drinking I won't have put the keys in the ignition if I had been, certianly not dumb enough to be drinking in the car, also seeing that the test had a range of .09 the device is unreliable. I hope that the judge will see it this way if I have to speak with them I'm hoping I don't no mre my wash no more muffins that's the only things that could have set it off. Still confused on how a judge can violate me if the probabtion officer clearly said to me that she will not be... but stranger things happen, also kind of weird how the MVA will give you 3 chances since that is the case they must know the interlocks are not reliable just my opnion.

Unless you have a engineering degree in electronics and a background in similar products... your argument will fall on deaf ears. THey have heard every excuse from people that are not supposed to be drinking ever... doing it and doing their best to cheat the system... yes I'm familiar enough with the MD traffic courts to know this first hand.

People that AREN'T experts in the field are very apparent to others when they pretend to be... particularly with Judges and Law enforcement that are exposed to people pretending to be almost on a daily basis.

And I am someone who has beaten almost a dozen Radar and Lidar tickets over the last 30 years by convincing the experts of situations that would legitimately produce an incorrect reading and why.(I'm a degreed Electronic Engineer).. I only lost one and that was a kangaroo court that told me to sit down and shut up I had nothing they wanted to hear... and that was in open court by the judge... in western MD. Strangely enough, the points and violation never made it to the MVA or my driving record... but the fine I paid was certainly cashed.

The mouthwash argument is pretty lame as well, there are plenty of alcohol free mouthwashes out there, they are clearly labeled and easy to find at any store that sells that sort of product. Meaning Drug, Dept and Grocery stores.

Dump any alcohol based product down the drain and buy only the non-alohol type and you can't "forget" again.

What I find odd is that anyone that is driving on the road that has been convicted of 1,2, 3, sometimes 4 DUI's and have completed there sentence to satisfy the courts have the right then to go out and as drink as long are they don't blow over .05 (DWI) or.08 DWI. However,since I'm still in the probabtionary phase I can not even start my car if I blow over a .025 to me this is just another way them (meaning the state) to keep you in the system to hand over more money. Oh and another thing if I lived in Florida I wouldn't even be having this converstation because there interlocks are calibrated at .04 Is there something wrong with this picture! Does there drinking water have alcohol in it ? Or is Maryland just in more need of cash then Florida ?

Well... face up the fact YOU are required to NOT be drinking anything... NO alcohol... and yeah drunks do drink mouthwash to pretend they really aren't drinking... there is NO excuse what-so-ever for you to HAVE to have a drop of alcohol ever pass your lips... every medicine and personal care product is available in alcohol free formulations.

Be an adult and stop whining... you did the crime... so pay the price, you knew what could happen... be happy you even HAVE an interlock... they didn't HAVE to even let you have your license back under ANY circumstances... either with or without it. It's a priveledge you should be grateful to have.

Honestly, as far as I'm concerned they should have taken away your driving privledges completely for at least an entire year... I've known serveral people killed as the results of intoxicated drivers... one of them a girl I was dating a couple years before I met my wife.

Sorry, but no sympathy here... I get the impression you think you shouldn't even have to deal with that slap on the wrist.

Even better... would you rather be sitting in jail for an entire year... yes, many places are doing that to first time offenders... would that be less of an inconvienience to you?

Also, I do totally agree with you that people with 2, 3 and 4 convictions should NEVER get their license back... ever.

Maybe if more of these Judges lose friends and family to drunks, that will stop happening.

Not whining really, I understand that alcohol shouldn't be in my system at this time. I will face the penalties when they do arise that won't be a problem. Just ranting about the inconsistances from state to state , in my opinion there shold be a set standard however there isn't. It comes down to state, judge, and money. If you think it has to do with keeping drunks off the road well I have to disagree, if that was the cause like we agreed on before there wouldn't be repeat dui offenders, there would be a lot of people driving drunk wothout a license however. If they really wanted to cut down on people drinking shouldn't they make it illegal for them to buy it maybe that would help, but then they wouldn't make there money you see, you have to see where I'm coming from.

Well the reason they aren't consistent state to state is this isn't something the Federal government has any authority over. It's a States rights issue (something codified in the US Constitution)... and obviously some states are willing to turn a blind eye to some things while others want to crack down harder.

How would you determine who did and didn't have the right to buy something with alcohol? Because most people are responsible and don't hop in the car under the influence, you can't restrict them from getting it.

I do see part of what you are saying... but most of it isn't workable in a practical sense.

Want to crack down on people driving for any reason on suspended licenses? Manditory jail time. And make the fines 10X higher than they are, And the vehicle gets forfieted and sold or crushed. Of course that butts up against prisons already over crowded with more serious offenders who should also be there. And incarceration costs a lot of money.

Problem is there are lots of great ideas to clamp down on it more... but as they say, the devil is in the details.

I agree with your whole statement nothing to rebutile on that one

What i find odd is that anyone that is driving on the road that has been convicted of 1,2, 3, sometimes 4 DUI's and have completed there sentence to satisfy the courts have the right then to go out and as drink as long are they dont blow over .05 (DWI) or.08 DWI. However,since im still in the probabtionary phase i can not even start my car if i blow over a .025 to me this is just another way them (meaning the state) to keep you in the system to hand over more money. Oh and another thing if i lived in florida i wouldnt even be having this converstation becuase there interlocks are calibrated at .04 Is there something wrong with this picture! Does there drinking water have alcohol in it ? or is maryland just in more need of cash then florida ?


This isn't about all those other people who do all those other things. This isn't about nameless/faceless people in Florida.

This is about you.

The "I'm bad but he's worse" defense is not going to fly. I see a great deal of self pity here, and I don't know why.

I personally don't have problems with an "unfair" interlock system. In fact, my vehicles don't have interlock systems. I have never driven drunk, so it's not something I have to worry about.

I don't think the purpose of "the system" is to get you to hand over more money. I think the purpose is to get and keep you off the road before you kill somebody.

Read my other posts - my Dad was KILLED by a drunk driver. Any questions?

Sorry that your dad was killed by a drunk driver, but your missing my point intirelly

Oh yeah and by the way to this day, I have not spent one day in jail for this, but I surely have paid over $5,000. So when you say the point of the system is to keep people "like me " off the road and not the money your sadly mistaken

No, you're mistaken - the interlock system DOES keep you off the road.

Maybe your legal fees make a bigger impression on you than jail would. Does that include the increase in your auto insurance for minimally the next 3 years?

And if hitting you in the pocket hurts and makes an impression, then the system is working.

And, no, I didn't miss your point. Driving and drinking is inconveniencing you. I can't feel sorry for you.

I have a question, I got a DUI two years ago in Florida, I live in Georgia now. My Georgia License is clear but Florida told me to but a interlock in my car now for 6 months. If I decide to take the interlock off will it affect my current license in Georgia?

States talk to each other these days... do it and get caught expect to be in a world of trouble.

In fact holding two different states drivers licenses is a violation of the law in itself.

Unclear.

Florida DUI was two years ago and Florida required the interlock for 6 months.

Unless I'm missing something, Florida hasn't cared, for 18 months now, whether there is an interlock.