IID Removal Requires 6 Months of no Violations or Infractions

I recently received this inquiry from a driver who is desperately trying to terminate his ignition interlock usage after serving more than the required two years. His story is not unique. It chronicles the struggle that many interlock users face when it is time for removal.

I am mandated by MassDot to have an interlock device in my vehicle.  I have had this device in my car for 6 long years because of a second offense OUI found guilty in 2009.  The registry told me I had to have a device in my car for 2 years on a full-time driver’s license.  I “jumped through the hoops” and was finally able to get my license back under restriction Z.  6 years later and I am still stuck with a device in my car because of failed start ups and rolling retest violations. I feel completely trapped and hopeless.

I started off with a company called Guardian and right away I started having problems.  The device would fail me for no reason or any reason I could think of and ironically it would seem to happen right before I had to get my monthly calibration.   Don’t get me wrong I had many months of all passed startup and rolling retests, but I could not go six months with a perfect record.

After 4 years of getting stranded, losing jobs, and just getting frustrated I decided to switch to another company called Sens-O-Lock of America.  For the first couple of months everything was fine until my device started to malfunction and I had to swap and get a new device installed.  In short I had to do this six times until the company sent me a working device.  After two years with Sens-O-Lock I decided to stop listening to the people who calibrated the device every month, (they told me not to bother trying to get it removed because of a couple small violations in every six month period) and try and get the device removed.

I figured that they would look at my documented proof that I missed “many rolling retests” because of the relay box malfunctioning and the two failed start-ups were .028 and .027 (not on the same date.)  On both failed attempts to start the car, I blew into the device again approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds later and passed with a BAC of .000.  This has happened MANY times, and it clearly proves that in every case it was anything from food, drink, toothpaste, cigarette smoke, I could go on and on.

I need some sort of legal representation because I’ve tried and had all the proof, but they (RMV) didn’t even care.  The past six years have been a nightmare and I feel completely trapped and frustrated. I have definitely paid my dues and all I want is this mess behind me.  Thank you for reading this, and hopefully things will turn out fair and just.

This shows the frustration that some Massachusetts Ignition Interlock users experience when trying to have the IID removed after having served all of the required time. In order to get the “Z” Restriction removed from a driver’s license, the customer must have a final download performed and it must show 6 months of no violations or infractions. IID users must be proactive, especially during the 6 month period immediately preceding their projected removal date. IID customers are advised to remove all possible sources of contamination from their vehicles, do not eat or drink anything prior to attempting to start the vehicle, rinse with water, immediately report and document any false positives, have any equipment which is suspected of malfunctioning replaced by the vendor, eliminate alcohol consumption, especially before driving, and be aware of problems caused by residual alcohol.