Ignition-Locking Device Program Comes to Calif.

SACRAMENTO, CA - Four counties in California will begin participating in a pilot program next month in which convicted drunken drivers will have to outfit their vehicles with ignition-locking devices, the Associated Press reported. 

The law, signed last fall by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, goes into effect in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Tulare counties. Under the program, first-time DUI offenders will be required to use an ignition-locking device for five months, or one year if they injured someone while driving drunk.

Fourteen states have similar laws for first-time DUI offenders. 

The California Legislature is scheduled to evaluate the pilot program's results in 2016 and decide whether the policy should be implemented statewide.