At the root of any DUI/DWI conviction is the sad truth that a person consumed too much alcohol before driving, potentially putting lives at risk in the process. While sometimes, a drunk driving offense is truly a one-time occurrence, statistics show that for each DUI/DWI conviction, that person has driven drunk 80 times without an arrest. This pattern of behavior is often related to substance abuse and alcohol addiction, which is why many states have mandatory substance abuse and/or sobriety programs that require “24/7” monitoring of alcohol consumption after a DUI/DWI arrest and/or conviction.
Monitoring the sobriety of a DUI/DWI offender can happen in several ways. Through in-patient sobriety programs, ignition interlock devices and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) home monitoring units. The devices used to monitor sobriety at home enable a person in an outpatient substance abuse or sobriety program the ability to continue working, fulfill the terms of house arrest, or serve as a way to ensure sobriety to the court when there is no ability to install an ignition interlock device on a vehicle. If a person is out on bail due to a DUI/DWI charge, he or she may be ordered to use a home monitoring unit in order to establish a pattern of documented sobriety prior to a court date.
Home monitoring units are portable and are not installed in a vehicle, but use the same ignition interlock technology to determine the BAC of the person using the devices. These devices also report the information to a court or other reporting authority, based upon a pre-determined schedule. When used in conjunction with an ignition interlock device and sobriety program guidelines, these BAC home monitoring devices decrease the chance of a person risking lives, while helping to establish healthy, sober behaviors overall.
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