The Home Page Network

Wellsboro Home Page had the privilege of attending the Aggressive Driver and DUI Case Law Training held at the Wellsboro Police Station on Wednesday morning. Law enforcement officials from across the region attended the training session. One of the issues discussed at the session was in regard to the ignition interlock system.

Jordan Geisler, an ignition interlock presenter for the Pennsylvania D.U.I. Association, briefed local law enforcement on the intricacies of the device. An ignition interlock device is an instrument, like a breathalyzer, installed on a motor vehicle’s dashboard. Before the vehicle’s motor can be started, the driver must first exhale into the device; if the breath-alcohol concentration result is greater than the programmed blood alcohol concentration, the device prevents the engine from being started.

In 2015 Pennsylvania will become a first offense state. In other words, if someone is convicted of a D.U.I. and it’s their first offense, they will be subject to having the ignition interlock system installed in their vehicle. Educating local law enforcement is important, with ignition interlock becoming more common among drivers here in Pennsylvania. One key aspect of the training session was to educate officials on how to spot tampering with the device. This is a crucial component of the training considering officials will be encountering this device on a more frequent basis.

George Geisler, Director of Law Enforcement Services at the Pennsylvania D.U.I. Association, led the D.U.I. Case Law training session. He touched on a number of different D.U.I. cases that have taken place in recent years. Geisler stated that “Looking at Case law gives the officers guidance on how they should enforce Statutory Law and complying with the laws of [Pennsylvania] commonwealth and the United States Constitution.”