Justin Crawford, a Lawrence resident, was driving on the wrong side of the road at speeds approximated at 60 mph. He then hit an unsuspecting car head-on sending both Crawford and a victim to the hospital. This was all taking place at 2:15 p.m., not to mention that he already had at least three prior offenses. Read the full article here.
While I do not know all the details of this particular mans situation, I do know that previous offenses are a warning sign of future offenses. Every fourth offense means that the individual was not deterred from the punishment or treatment from the first offense, second offense or third offense. One thing in the midst of treating the offender that we know does work is Ignition Interlock devices. While there will never be a perfect solution we have found that since Kansas passed first offender Ignition Interlock laws we have seen a reduction in alcohol related fatalities of 56%. This is a MAJOR reduction and lower than any of the previous ten years. And DUI arrests decreased by approximately 4000 offenses. There is definitely something to these numbers. Obviously it was too late to benefit Mr. Crawford, but there will be other Mr. Crawford’s in the future and we have to do our best to prevent them from injuring or killing more people.
So, what is the solution? Until we can find a treatment or a way to eliminate someone from driving any vehicle after a DUI offense, we need to allow those who have a DUI to continue to work and drive because we all know that public transit is non-existent at best in Kansas. We also need to monitor their driving, ,maybe even a work your way off program where an individual can prove over time that they are ready to drive without an ignition interlock device on their vehicle. Interlock devices have made leaps and bounds in the past couple of years. They can now capture a picture of the person blowing into it, determine if they have been drinking, tell the GPS location of the vehicle they are in and submit it real-time to authorities. All for a cost much lower than having an individual in jail. Ignition Interlock devices need to be installed for every offense, and for longer periods of time. There has to be sanctions for having alcohol related events or the program will not be taken seriously. Program times should be increased as the individuals prove through positive readings that they are not yet ready to have it removed.
So we will keep plugging along and hopefully keep making improvements that protect not only the public but those who have trouble with alcoholism. We have made progress over the years as shown by the Huge decreases in deaths, but we can do more.
If you are in need of a Kansas DMV Ignition Interlock device or even if you want to voluntarily install a device for a friend or family member feel free to contact us at anytime to set up a time and date. Smart Start of Kansas Ignition interlock respects the privacy of each of our clients and would love the opportunity to earn your business.
Contact us at 1-866-747-8278 or contact us online to schedule an appointment or get your questions answered. We have helped more Kansas DUI offenders navigate the DUI process than anyone else and can make the process simple and easy.









