What is a BAIID?

If you've been charged with a DuPage DUI - or a DUI anywhere in Illinois for that matter - the chances are that you also received a Statutory Summary Suspension. Although there are many ways to get this summary suspension thrown out or "rescinded" sometimes, despite the best efforts of your DUI Defense Lawyer, the judge will not rescind the summary suspension. When this occurs, first-time offenders are eligible for a Monitoring Device Driving Permit in Illinois (MDDP). The "monitoring device" is called a "BAIID."

BAIID is short for “breath alcohol ignition interlock device.” These machines are installed at your expense by companies approved by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. The BAIID requires a driver to blow into the device when they first start their car. A driver of a BAIID vehicle must retest within the first 5 to 15 minutes, and when driving for longer periods of time the driver must also test about twice every hour. The device records each test and any violation is reported to the monitoring agency. The BAIID will not allow the car to be started if it detects a BAC of .025 or greater. If during operation it detects a BAC of greater than .025, then a warning signal will be emitted, and after coming to a complete stop the car cannot be re-started until the driver has a BAC of less than .025.

BAIID devices utilize “fuel cell technology” to measure the presence of alcohol in the sample chamber. Fuel cells, like many breath alcohol devices have limitations, specifically when it comes to discerning ethyl alcohol from other alcohols: A fuel cell is a device designed to continually convert fuel and an oxidant into direct current. As used for breath testing, alcohol is used as the fuel and oxygen from the atmosphere as the oxidant. Alcohol is converted in the fuel cell to acetic acid, producing two electrons for each alcohol molecule. These electrons produce an electrical current that serves to quantitate the amount of alcohol. Acetic acid further reacts at a much slower rate to form oxygen, carbon dioxide and water…Fuel cells can potentially respond to other alcohols such as methyl-, isopropyl-, and n-propyl alcohol, and to acetaldehyde.

It is important to know this because if you are ever charged with a BAIID violation the problem may be as simple as knowing that the device registered for ethyl alcohol (beverage alcohol) when the actual triggering substance was something else.

Sometimes, as part of a plea agreement, DUI offenders may be required to install a BAIID as part of their sentence.  This could mean that the BAIID is installed for  longer than just the period of the Statutory Summary Suspension.  In my experience as a DUI defense lawyer in Wheaton, I have seen an increase in the use of BAIID in sentencing particularly in Naperville DUI cases.  If you've been charged with a DUI and would like to discuss your case please feel free to call the Law Offices of Brent M. Christensen  at 630-665-5965, for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Dealing with the Police in a DUI stop

In previous blog posts, I've discussed at some length the importance of not incriminating yourself during a Police stop for a DuPage DUI arrest.  In order to have the best chance at overcoming your DuPage DUI case, it is very important that you volunteer as little information to the police as possible.  Frequently this will mean "taking the 5th amendment" and refusing to answer questions.

Unfortunately for most people facing DUI charges, particularly from aggressive police agency tactics like those employed in Naperville DUI arrests, it is very hard to be polite but firm with the police.  This video should help.
At the Law Offices of Brent M. Christensen I encourage all my clients to share this with their friends so they can have the best chance of surviving a DUI police encounter.

2010 Illinois Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities Data

 Illinois

As one who concentrates his law practice exclusively in the field of DuPage DUI Defense, I am always interested in the data that claims to support the enforcement of DUI laws.  There has yet to be a serious study on the effect of lowering the legal limit for DUI to .08.  In any case here are the data for 2010.

2010 Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities (AIDF) Data

Total Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities	297
Under 21 Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities	39

2010 Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities per 100,000 Population

Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities per 100K pop	2.3
Under 21 Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities per 100K pop	1.1

2000-10 Change in Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities per 100K pop

10-year Change in Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities per 100K pop	-41.1%
10-year Change in Under 21 Alcohol Impaired Driving Fatalities per 100K pop	-48.5%

Percent of Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities Involving high BAC drivers (.15+)

BAC = .15+

73.9%

Percent of Drivers in Fatal Drunk Driving Crashes Involving Repeat Offenders w/BAC .15+

BAC = .08-.14	26.7%
BAC = .15+	73.3%

2008-09 12-20 Year Old Alcohol Consumption (latest available)

Past Month Alcohol Consumption	28.4%
Binge Drinking in Past 30-days	19.6%

If you have been arrested for DUI in DuPage County, or if you've received a Naperville DUI charge, please contact the Law Offices of Brent M. Christensen for a free consultation at 630-665-5965.

If Illinois wants to reduce DUI incidents it should adopt a law similar to France. Don't hold your breath.

With many municipalities in DuPage County like Naperville, Wheaton and Elmhurst charging their DUI under local ordinance there's an argument to be made that these towns use DUI enforcement first and foremost to raise revenue.  Of course, the police departments in this towns would undoubtedly bristle at such an allegation by a DuPage DUI defense lawyer like myself.  They would say it's all about public safety.

It would be interesting to see these police departments put their money where their mouths are and back an entirely new regime of DUI enforcement statewide.  What if Illinois required all vehicles to be equipped with Breath Analysis Ignition Interlock Devices?  If this were the case DUI incidents would be dramatically reduced.

So too, would revenue for these high DUI writing municipalities though, not to mention the bars and taverns who depend on people paying for lots of drinks.

French law could be a good model for a new DUI enforcement regime.  France is serious about cutting down on drunk driving: A new law requires all drivers in the country to carry a breathalyzer in their vehicles or be fined. Car accidents kill 4,000 people there each year, and drunk driving is the main cause of those accidents, the BBC reports. The government hopes the move will save 500 lives annually by encouraging those who feel boozy to test themselves before deciding to get behind the wheel. But the fine for ignoring the law isn't huge, at just under $14. But it will apply to all drivers in the country, including foreigners, after November 1; random checks will be put in place to enforce it. It doesn't go into effect until then because there is a shortage of breathalyzer kits—tens of millions will be needed, a huge boon to manufacturers. In fact, some opponents of the law claim it was only passed because the industry lobbied for it.

If you or someone you love has been charged with a DUI in DuPage County, call 630-665-5965 for a free consultation.

DuPage County DUI arrest statistics for 2011

The Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists has released its DUI arrest statistics for police agencies throughout Illinois. Not surprisingly, Naperville, Elmhurst, and Carol Stream led DuPage County Municipalities with DUI arrests.  However, DUI arrests for Naperville and Carol Stream were down from numbers posted in 2010,  Rounding out the top five municipalities for DuPage DUI arrests for 2011 were Itasca and Downers Grove.

Perhaps the most surprising element in the 2011 stats are not the fact that some of the leading municipalities were down slightly from 2010, but rather the relatively huge increase in DUI arrests by some municipalities.
Where Naperville DUI arrests were down by about 7% and Carol Stream down by about 3% from the previous year, Elmhurst DUI cases were up by over 15%.

The biggest increase in DUI arrests were by Downers Grove and Itasca.  In 2010 Downers Grove made 184 DUI arrests.  But in 2011, Downers Grove made 236 arrests, and increase of over 28%.  Itasca's fortunes for DUI arrests were even more stunning - up 45% over last year - from 182 in 2010 to 264 in 2011.

These variations are not easily explainable.  If the economy were the issue why would Elmhurst be up and Naperville down?  Why would Carol Stream have slipped while Itasca soars?  As a DuPage DUI attorney who's practiced DUI defense for more than 18 years, I suspect that the difference is based on the motivation supplied to officers of certain departments.  I would suggest that although they would never admit to maintaining DUI arrest "quotas"  I believe it's hard to draw a different conclusion.