Featured Revised Missouri Statute Of The Month

 

 

The Featured Revised Missouri Statute Of The Month is intended to make the motoring public aware of laws pertaining to the legal and safe operation of motor vehicles. Each year new laws are passed and some old laws are changed or amended. The Missouri State Highway Patrol will be featuring a different law each month as an awareness for drivers of all ages. The Public Information and Education Division of the Missouri State Highway Patrol responds to questions concerning motor vehicle laws on a daily basis, and we will attempt to feature those laws generating the most attention.

 

This months featured law provides direction to drivers on the details of the administrative, Ignition Interlock Law.

 

A state law that took effect July 1, 2009 impacted a number of Missouri drivers who must install ignition interlock devices in the vehicles they drive.

 

An ignition interlock device is a breath-testing instrument connected to a vehicle’s ignition, horn and headlights. To start the vehicle, a driver must breathe into the device without registering a detectable blood alcohol concentration.

 

The new law will automatically affect future repeat offenders of Missouri’s alcohol-related driving laws, but it will also affect past repeat alcohol-related offenders who have not reinstated their full or partial driving privileges before July 1, 2009.

 

Requiring an ignition interlock device will still be an option judges may impose at sentencing, but under the new law it will be an automatic requirement for certain repeat offenders, and it will be administratively enforced by the Missouri Department of Revenue.

 

There are some general guidelines on who will be affected. If a driver receives an “alcohol-related offense” and has a previous alcohol offense on his or her record, the driver may be required to have an ignition interlock device installed in order to reinstate their driving privilege. An “alcohol-related offense” is defined as any license suspension or revocation under the state’s administrative alcohol laws, a refusal to submit to an alcohol/drug test in certain situations or a conviction for any other offense related to driving while intoxicated. This definition also applies to Missouri drivers who have committed these offenses in other states.

 

Drivers who are unsure of their status may call the Missouri Department of Revenue at (573) 526-2407. The automated number is available 24 hours every day. Persons wanting to access the system will need their driver license numbers.

 

All drivers affected by the ignition interlock provision of the law will need to have the device installed prior to having their full driving privileges reinstated or before they are granted limited or restricted driving privileges. To learn what steps need to be taken to reinstate driving privileges, go to http://dor.mo.gov/mvdl/drivers.

 

While the requirements of the Ignition Interlock Law will be administratively enforced by the Missouri Department of Revenue, Missouri law enforcement officers will enforce the laws pertaining to the operation of motor vehicles by drivers who have had the ignition interlock requirement placed upon them. Those statutes are listed below:

 

577.600. 1. In addition to any other provisions of law, a court may require that any person who is found guilty of or pleads guilty to a first intoxication-related traffic offense, as defined in section 577.023, and a court shall require that any person who is found guilty of or pleads guilty to a second or subsequent intoxication-related traffic offense, as defined in section 577.023, shall not operate any motor vehicle unless that vehicle is equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock device for a period of not less than six months from the date of reinstatement of the person's driver's license. In addition, any court authorized to grant a limited driving privilege under section 302.309, RSMo, to any person who is found guilty of or pleads guilty to a second or subsequent intoxication-related traffic offense shall require the use of an ignition interlock device on all vehicles operated by the person as a required condition of the limited driving privilege. These requirements shall be in addition to any other provisions of this chapter or chapter 302, RSMo, requiring installation and maintenance of an ignition interlock device. Any person required to use an ignition interlock device, either under the provisions of this chapter or chapter 302, RSMo, shall comply with such requirement subject to the penalties provided by this section.

 

2. No person shall knowingly rent, lease or lend a motor vehicle to a person known to have had that person's driving privilege restricted as provided in subsection 1 of this section, unless the vehicle is equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock device. Any person whose driving privilege is restricted as provided in subsection 1 of this section shall notify any other person who rents, leases or loans a motor vehicle to that person of the driving restriction imposed pursuant to this section.

 

3. Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

 

577.612. 1. It is unlawful for any person whose driving privilege is restricted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or chapter 302, RSMo, to request or solicit any other person to blow into an ignition interlock device or to start a motor vehicle equipped with the device for the purpose of providing the person so restricted with an operable motor vehicle.

 

2. It is unlawful to blow into an ignition interlock device or to start a motor vehicle equipped with the device for the purpose of providing an operable motor vehicle to a person whose driving privilege is restricted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or chapter 302, RSMo.

 

3. It is unlawful to tamper with, or circumvent the operation of, an ignition interlock device.

 

4. Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

 

 

 

 


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