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We all make our fair share of poor decisions, especially in our younger years. Knowing this, the mark of a responsible person is owning up to your mistakes, making amends, and learning from it. If you have recently made the unfortunate decision to drive while under the influence and got caught by the law doing so, then you are likely aware that there will be reparations required and penalties laid upon you for your actions. Perhaps you are wondering what those punishments will be and what they will cost you.

Although it depends on the seriousness of the DUI and whether it was a repeat crime, the vast majority of states will charge a fine and require that you attend a drug and alcohol education course. In certain states that have all offender or multiple offender ignition interlock laws, you’ll be required to purchase and maintain an ignition interlock device, also known as a car breathalyzer. Wondering how much interlock devices cost? We’ve got you covered.

Exploring the Costs of Ignition Interlock Devices

Navigating the aftermath of a DUI conviction can be challenging, especially when it comes to understanding the financial obligations related to ignition interlock devices. Here, we’ll break down the ignition interlock device cost and provide insights into making this requirement more manageable.

What Does an Ignition Interlock Device Cost?

The IID cost typically includes several components: installation, monthly leasing, calibration, and occasionally, additional fees. Let’s delve into each aspect to give you a clearer picture of what to expect:

Installation Costs

IID installation costs can vary significantly depending on your vehicle’s make and model, as well as the specific requirements of the ignition interlock program in your state. Generally, you can expect to pay between $70 and $150 for installation. This is a one-time fee required at the beginning of your lease period.

Monthly Lease Payments

The ongoing ignition interlock cost typically ranges from $60 to $90 per month. This fee covers the leasing of the device and may fluctuate based on the IID requirement of your state and the features of the device, such as GPS tracking or real-time reporting.

Calibration and Maintenance

Regular calibration is essential to ensure your IID functions correctly. Fortunately, most ignition interlock programs include calibration as part of the monthly fee, with no additional costs unless repairs or extra services are needed.

Financial Assistance for Ignition Interlock Costs

Understanding that the financial burden of an IID can be significant, especially post-DUI charge, some states offer financial assistance programs to help mitigate these costs. These programs are designed to support individuals who may struggle to meet the financial demands of maintaining an IID, ensuring that driving privileges are not unduly affected by economic status.

The Cost of Other Interlock Devices

As per the court, the DUI offender is obliged by law to pay all fines and fees tied to the purchase, installation, and upkeep of an ignition interlock. While costs and requirements vary on a state-by-state basis, your average interlock will cost somewhere from $70 to $150 for installation and $60 to $80 every month to monitor and recalibrate the device.

For those that are unable to afford an ignition interlock, some states have programs or funds created to provided ignition interlock devices for low-income offenders. While there will still be costs attached, the expenses are far cheaper than paying for Lyft, Uber, or the city bus for six months to a year.

How Much is the LowCost Interlock?

Low Cost Interlock knows that between court fines, lawyer fees, insurance hikes, and vehicle damage, a person on the other side of a DUI is already feeling the hit to their bank account. We set out to create the most affordable interlock device available and formulated a pricing structure that is tailored to a client’s needs. Our goal is to help you fulfill your societal obligations by finishing your interlock program quickly and efficiently without taking you for every penny. We also want to get you back on the road driving safely and soberly in as little time as possible.

The Low Cost Interlock device cost varies by state since each state has its own stringent constraints for their interlock program. To provide you with a better idea of pricing, you will need to provide us with the following information:  

  • Full name
  • Home address
  • State
  • Zip Code
  • Phone number
  • Driver’s license number
  • Email
  • Vehicle registration information including VIN and license plate
  • Court papers and/or DMV papers which state:
    • Case number
    • Court address
    • Presiding judge
    • Your attorney
    • County

Once you have given us this information, Low Cost Interlock can chart out the expected appraisal for your car’s breathalyzer. Do not worry; there are no ambushes waiting for you with hidden fees. Based on your profile, we will clearly outline the cost of your Interlock device program in your lease. Charges will be transparent so that you are fully aware of what you will be paying throughout the entirety of your penance before you ever get the process started.  

In order to guarantee that we are the most reasonably priced breath alcohol ignition interlock device service provider, we provide our customers with the following:

  • $0.00 set-up fee
  • $0.00 shipping fee
  • $0.00 installation fee

Sounds too good to be true? Just check out our reviews; we have thousands of grateful customers whom we are proud to have helped get back on the road, now driving safely. If you sign up today, you will instantly save more than $100. Our upfront approach of no hidden fees and no fees for missed or failed tests guarantee you savings of over $300 throughout your time using the device. If that doesn’t convince you, reach out to one of our experts to chart out your pricing plan.

Why Our Interlock Device?

Our standard alcohol ignition interlock device is an incredibly designed, minimalistic piece of hardware. It packs modern tech into a sleek and discreet frame, giving you both quickness and accuracy and saving you from embarrassment. Features that make it stand out include:

  • Ease of Use – To use this device, simply exhale 3 seconds to provide your breath sample. It is an easy 3-second straight exhale without any of the breathing patterns many of our competitors use such as (blow/suck/blow) or (blow then hum). We know that having to prove you’re sober every time you drive can be a frustrating reminder of your mistakes. We want you to be able to blow, pass, and then go!
  • Consistent – This car breathalyzer utilizes the newest interlock tech in order to read breath samples accurately and precisely. We guarantee 100% accuracy and know that few things are more exasperating than receiving a device error or failed test when you have not had anything to drink. Our goal is for this process to be discreet and painless. You know you made a blunder, we are not here to drive in that point.
  • Convenient – Low Cost Interlock has hundreds of locations across the country. We are happy to come to your home and provide free servicing and free installation in just a few minutes. We want our device and our team to make this as little an inconvenience as humanly possible.
  • Our Device is Sanitary – We boast not only the cheapest but the most sanitary interlock devices on the market. Each affordable car breathalyzer is scoured clean and tested for cleanliness at our HQ before any new user receives theirs. They never pass directly from client-to-client, reducing the chance that your device has germs or other contaminants. The straight-blow tech eliminates the need to inhale, meaning you will never have to breathe in any possible nastiness from a previous user.  
  • Our Customer Care – Low Cost Interlock offers 24/7 bilingual customer support and onboarding services. If you have any questions or issues with your device, our experts will get that problem solved. We provide our valuable customers with fast and free installation and calibration.

Try the Can

If the interlock device is still too ostentatious for your liking, we recently came out with the Can, the most discreet way to submit a breath test and get driving. We know that this situation can be embarrassing, and you would not likely choose to have this device if it weren’t mandated. That’s okay! We get it. Which is why we have made the Interlock Can, a breathalyzer that looks like a soda can. With the Can, your passengers won’t be aware of the fact that you have an interlock device.  

We created the Can to provide our clients with a private and tactful way to uphold their state-required compulsions. This smart device is 100% free for new clients if you call now, schedule an Interlock installation, and purchase the optional insurance. Current customers can order the Can now for just $29. Free shipping is included.

How They Work

Testing your blood alcohol content is the primary measurement in figuring a person’s level of intoxication. BAC represents the percentage of grams of ethyl alcohol in every 100 milliliters of your blood. A BAC of .08—national legal limit for driving—means that you have .08 grams of alcohol in every 100 milliliters of your blood.

An interlock device will be attached to your car’s ignition system. In order to get that car started, you will be required to blow into your device. It will then measure that breath for your BAC. If it finds that your BAC is below the state-mandated limit, you will be able to start your vehicle. Although this set limit changes on a state by state basis, the most common set limit is .02 BAC. If you blow above this limit, your device will prevent the engine from starting until you can blow a sample beneath the set limit.

Why Interlock Devices?

A driver is considered by law to be alcohol-impaired when their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is at .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher. Also known as “drunk driving,” any fatal crash involving a BAC of .08 + is recorded as a drunk driving crash and drunk driving fatality. This term does not necessitate that the collision or fatality was directly caused by alcohol impairment, just that it was a present factor in the accident.

According to a 2016 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study, 10,497 motor vehicle fatalities involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 g/dL or higher, accounting for more than a quarter of all traffic fatalities that year. That is an average of one alcohol-related driving fatality every 50 minutes. The same study estimated that the economic costs of all alcohol-impaired crashes surpasses $50 billion annually. While these numbers are staggering, you might be surprised to find that drunk driving for teens and people under the age of 25 have decreased over the last decade, much in part due to three factors:

  • Interlock devices
  • Widespread anti-drunk driving awareness campaigns
  • Ridesharing with Lyft and Uber

The Efficacy of Interlock Devices

During their 2006 Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) strongly pushed for ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers. They posited that repeat offenders were a significant issue and that requiring the installation of car breathalyzers would prevent regular drunk drivers from making the same mistake.

Two years ago, MADD sought to quantify the efficacy of interlock devices. Their 2017 report concluded,

MADD has been advocating for ignition interlocks for all drunk drivers, starting with the first offense, for the past 10 years, with the firm belief that advanced technology is the best defense available to combat the tragedies caused by drunk driving. The findings were both astounding and alarming. MADD collected data from 11 ignition interlock manufacturers and found that ignition interlocks had stopped 1.77 million attempts to drive drunk. One year later, ignition interlocks have stopped another 350,000 drunk driving attempts and 2.3 million since 2006, when MADD first launched the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving.

These findings are staggering and make it easy to understand why MADD has made a strong push to encourage every state in the nation to adopt a law that would require ignition interlock devices. As of now, 32 states—and Washington D.C.—have first-time drunk driver interlock laws.  

State Laws

According to the MAAD’s 204 legislative recommendations by Mothers Against Drunk Driving to improve lifesaving ignition interlock laws a study on ignition interlock laws in the U.S., 32 states now have mandated first-time offense interlock ignition laws. They include:

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • Washington D.C.
  • West Virginia

Discretionary or optional interlock laws can be found in three states:

  • California – has four counties testing out a pilot program in four counties that requires all offenders to obtain interlock devices
  • North Dakota
  • South Dakota

Mandatory interlock laws for repeat offenders can be found in five states:

  • Georgia
  • Indiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Montana
  • Ohio

Mandatory interlock laws for all offenders with a BAC of .15 or higher can be found in ten states:

  • Florida
  • Kentucky
  • Michigan (.17 BAC)
  • Minnesota (.16 BAC)
  • New Jersey
  • North Carolina
  • Pennsylvania (.10 BAC)
  • South Carolina
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

Getting Started

If you have been required by your state courts to acquire an interlock device, then Low Cost Interlock is the cheapest and most effective machine on the market. Our 24/7 customer support, as well as our free shipping, installation, and upkeep, means that you are getting the best product possible for the littlest cost. Reach out now and one of our specialists will help you get back on the road in no time at all.