After working for more than a decade to increase DUI sentences and get drunk drivers off the road, an Arizona state senator recently took action to lower DUI penalties in the state. Now, safety advocates believe that those gentler laws will cause an increase in drunk driving car accidents, injuries and deaths in the state in the coming months.

The law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, lowers the time requirements for ignition interlock devices. Now, first time DUI offenders will only be obligated to have the devices in their vehicles for six months, a decrease from the previous one-year requirement. Repeat and hardcore offenders will not be eligible.

Ignition interlock devices are installed in the vehicles of convicted DUI offenders. The driver is required to blow into the device before starting the vehicle. If the device senses alcohol in the driver's system, the car will not start.

The Arizona legislature first enacted an ignition interlock law in 2001, which required repeat DUI offenders to install the devices. In 2007, that law was expanded to require first-time offenders to use the devices for one year.

According to the Arizona chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the 2007 law was responsible for the recent drop in DUI fatalities in the state. In 2010, there were 210 drunk driving deaths in Arizona, a significant decrease from 2006, when there were 399 deaths.

MADD is opposing the downgrade to the ignition interlock requirement, stating that it will monitor DUI fatalities and ask lawmakers to reverse the change if deaths increase. "We definitely feel the interlock law has made a huge difference," said program specialist Kelley Dupps. "Interlocks allow offenders to get back on the road and drive safely while the community can rest assured that they are driving safely."

Source: The Arizona Republic, "DUI sentences to ease in 2012 for first timers," Alia Beard Rau, Dec. 25, 2011