Indiana legislation aimed at cracking down on drunk drivers is finding national support. It includes installing a breath test device in cars.

Leading the charge is the national president of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers .

“Seventeen years ago I became a victim of drunk driving when my husband, Mike Dean age 32 pictured here with our daughter who was then 7-weeks-old was killed when our daughter was 8-months-old,” said Laura Dean-Mooney, MADD National President.

Dean-Mooney was in Indianapolis to show support for a piece of legislation that would require convicted drunk drivers to install alcohol ignition interlocks in their cars.

“Exploration and development of advanced technology that will detect if a driver has an illegal concentration above .08 and it will prevent a driver from actually operating the vehicle,” said Dean-Mooney.

Bill 1020 is making its way through the House. Representative Cleo Duncan of Batesville authored the original bill. It gave judges the option to mandate the use of the device, but this time Rep. Duncan is asking for mandatory installation for all DUI offenders.

“I had a request from one of my judges to see if we could possibly do legislation that would allow the use after the first offense,” said Rep. Cleo Duncan.

But not everyone agrees, the American Beverage Institute said the proposal ignores the root cause of today’s drunk driving problem, hard core alcohol abusers. It feels that first time offenders should not receive the same punishment as someone with prior convictions.

Right now, at least seven states require convicted drunk drivers to install alcohol ignition interlocks on their cars.

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