Lawmakers in Harrisburg are trying again to change DUI laws so first-time offenders would have ignition-interlock devices installed in their vehicles.

Ignition-interlock devices require a driver to blow into an alcohol sensor when starting the car. If the device senses the driver’s blood-alcohol content is too high, the car won’t start.

State law says interlocks can be imposed after a second DUI, not a first conviction, according to state Rep. Paul Clymer, a Bucks County Republican who’s looking to amend the law.

Clymer submitted a bill March 19 that would allow ignition-interlock devices to be installed on a first DUI conviction. The bill has one Lancaster County co-sponsor, GOP state Rep. Tom Creighton of Rapho Township.

“I think when people have a drinking problem, they lose the ability to make rational decisions,” Creighton said Monday. “As a safeguard, this makes them jump through some hoops before they can drive.”

Clymer said he was inspired by a letter from a Quakertown High School student who asked for such legislation.

“I agree that installation of these devices has proven to be a relatively simple way of ensuring that those individuals who are convicted of drunk driving are prevented from repeating a potentially deadly mistake,” Clymer said in a news release. “Why are we waiting for these individuals to be convicted a second time to implement this precaution?”

A similar bill was introduced in January 2008, but because it was not passed by the end of the 2007-08 legislative session, the proposal had to be reintroduced.

The proposed change in the law has found a few supporters among Lancaster County law-enforcement officials.

“I’m for anything that is a deterrent for drunk driving,” Lancaster city police Chief Keith Sadler said last week. “Your average Joe Citizen that didn’t have any brush-ups with the law can have one night (when he) had too much to drink … . There’s been too many accident deaths from that type of behavior.”

Manheim Township police Sgt. Tom Rudzinski agreed.

“Anything that could improve safety of the highways is always a good thing,” Rudzinski said.

How frequently ignition interlock devices are used in Lancaster County is unclear. District Attorney Craig Stedman was not available for comment Monday.

With only 22 co-sponsors in the 203-member state House, the bill’s future is uncertain. It is now in the hands of the House Transportation Committee.

Clymer’s proposal would make the cost of purchasing and installing a device the responsibility of the DUI offender.

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