It’s still too soon to tell whether the state’s new Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device law will reduce the amount of driving under the influence violations in Illinois, but it is having a noticeable effect on drivers.

Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Scott Meyers says first-time DUI offenders, the targets of the law, are a lot more upset about getting a DUI since the law went into effect Jan. 1.

“Everyone is upset when they get their first DUI. But just reading the reports, it’s clear that people are a lot more upset these days,” Meyers said. “They realize what it means and that they’re going to have to jump through a lot more hoops to get through it. The state’s done an excellent job educating the public on this. They can’t say they didn’t know that this would happen to them if they drink and drive.”

The new law is estimated to affect about 30,000 Illinoisans this year, requiring them to have breath-test devices attached to their cars if they want to get behind the wheel after their first DUI arrest. The device, which is attached to the ignition of the vehicles, requires offenders to submit to a breath test every time he or she wants to start the vehicle, and at periodic intervals after the vehicle has been started.

Offenders who opt to have the device installed will have to pay for installation, monthly service and recalibration if they breathe into the device and it detects an elevated blood-alcohol content level. The device flashes the vehicle’s lights and honks the horn if the offender tries to drive after failing a breath test.

The Rockford Police Department, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department and Illinois State Police District 16 — the area’s three major road-patrolling agencies — have yet to catch a driver with the device in violation.

Meyers said sheriff’s deputies have pulled over a few drivers for compliance checks. The ignition-device law allows police to know what cars are supposed to have them and who the driver is supposed to be so officers can stop the car to ensure that the device is installed, working properly and that the right person is behind the wheel.

Rockford police have issued 126 driving under the influence violations since Jan. 1. The county has had 53 so far this year, and state troopers have made 21 DUI arrests in the past two months.

It takes a few weeks for the state’s mandatory driving suspension after DUI arrests to kick in, law-enforcement officials said. That could be why they’re not seeing too much of a difference yet on area roads. Some of the offenders could be fighting the suspension, they said, or opting not to drive at all during their suspensions. Most first-time offenders in Illinois have their driving privileges suspended for six months.

“Either everyone is in compliance or we don’t have enough people out there yet to see the violations come in,” Rockford Police Lt. Dane Person said.

“There certainly are going to be some deterrence factors down the road with this law,” Person said. “The device law is definitely more cumbersome for drivers to deal with than the old judicial driving permit. You could violate your judicial driving permit, and as long as you didn’t get caught, you were fine. This law is going to require a lifestyle change for people. You can’t drink. It’s not just you can drink in excess of the blood-alcohol content limit for the state. It’s set lower than that so you can’t reoffend without getting caught.”

When arrested for DUI in Illinois contact an Illinois DUI lawyer.