INDIANAPOLIS — Habitual traffic violators, including those with histories of drunken driving, would have to submit to stricter monitoring if two bills moving through the General Assembly become law.

Senate Bill 221 would require people with restricted driver’s licenses to submit to sobriety tests when stopped for other traffic violations, wear a device that detects and records their use of alcohol, and install an ignition interlock device on their vehicles.

An ignition interlock requires an alcohol-free breath sample from the driver before the vehicle will start.

"There’s been some confusion as to how far judges and courts can go when they have an individual in this situation. This eliminates any confusion," said Sen. John Broden, D-South Bend, who wrote the bill with Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne.

Senate Bill 247 is another bill that calls on courts to make greater use of ignition interlocks to curb drunken driving.

Under that bill, a person convicted of operating while intoxicated could be prohibited from driving for at least 90 days unless his or her vehicle is equipped with an ignition interlock.

Sen. Joe Zakas, R-Granger, is one of the authors of SB 247. He said the bill is intended to encourage judges to employ a technique that already is available to them.

"We’ve been strengthening and toughening our drunk driving laws for years, but there is always more that needs to be done," Zakas said. "This is part of that effort."

Both SB 221 and SB 247 easily passed the Senate last week and are now being considered in the House Judiciary Committee.

The death of Mishawaka Police Cpl. James Szuba, who died Jan. 9 when an allegedly drunk driver crashed into his police cruiser, has raised the question of how the legal system can better protect the public from people with dangerous driving histories.

The incident occurred after the General Assembly’s deadline to file bills for this year’s session, so SB 221 and SB 247 were not proposed in reaction to Szuba’s death.

"However, that incident certainly brings greater awareness to the fact that we really need to give courts more tools to address people who repeatedly violate our traffic laws with respect to driving under the influence," Broden said.

Another proposal, Senate Bill 286, would have required people convicted of operating while intoxicated to have ignition interlocks in their vehicles for the rest of their lives if they had a prior OWI offense within the past 10 years. That bill died in a Senate committee.

Staff writer Kevin Allen:

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