SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 1

48TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO -SECOND SPECIAL SESSION, 2008 INTRODUCED BY Pete Campos

A JOINT MEMORIAL REQUESTING MAJOR AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS TO INCLUDE IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICES ON ALL NEW VEHICLES.

WHEREAS, the New Mexico department of transportation cites alcohol involvement in forty percent of all fatal traffic accidents that occur in the state, making alcohol-related traffic deaths the single largest component of all traffic fatalities; and

WHEREAS, according to mothers against drunk driving, during a typical prom weekend in 2005, two hundred ninety young adults ages fifteen to twenty were killed in alcohol-related crashes in the United States, and one hundred ninety-eight of those deaths involved an impaired driver; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico has seen a significant reduction in the number of alcohol-related crashes since requiring that .173757.1

ignition interlock devices be installed on the vehicles of all first-time drunk driving offenders; and

WHEREAS, the number of alcohol-related crashes declined thirty percent from 2002 to 2006, and the recidivism rate of New Mexico drivers after a DWI conviction dropped thirty percent since 2005, when the Ignition Interlock Licensing Act was enacted; and

WHEREAS, alcohol-related fatalities have dropped twenty-two percent over the past five years in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, installing ignition interlock devices on all new vehicles would significantly reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes, injuries and fatalities in the United States; and

WHEREAS, despite the strides made by the state to protect its citizens from drunk drivers, New Mexico has still been plagued by tragedy and devastation to New Mexico families that can never be repaired; and

WHEREAS, in 2006, five members of the same family were killed by a drunk driver who had multiple DWI convictions in Colorado and who was traveling the wrong way on interstate 25; and

WHEREAS, had that driver been convicted in New Mexico, he would have had an ignition interlock device installed on his vehicle and that tragedy might have been avoided; and

WHEREAS, the cost of installing an ignition interlock

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device will only add a few hundred dollars to the price of a new vehicle;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that automobile manufacturers be requested to install ignition interlock devices on all new vehicles to ensure the safety of all New Mexico citizens; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that state policymakers continue to explore emerging technology that may help New Mexicans avoid further DWI tragedy; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the major automobile manufacturers, the governor's office, the department of public safety and the DWI czar.

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