The Assembly this week unanimously approved a bill that would create a pilot project in Alameda, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties requiring installation of ignition interlock devices (IID) on any vehicle owned or operated by someone convicted of a drunk-driving offense.

“A restricted license still allows a person to drive drunk,” said Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angles, the author of Assembly Bill 91. “Since we have the technology that can help prevent drivers from getting behind the wheel after drinking, we should be using it. Not only would this legislation help reduce the likelihood that innocent people will be harmed by drunk drivers, it also promotes sober driving habits.”

An IID links into a vehicle’s ignition system so that a driver must blow into the device in order to start the vehicle; it won’t start unless the driver’s alcohol level is below the limit of .08 blood-alcohol content. Courts now have the discretion to require the devices’ installation, but aren’t mandated to do so.

States where IID installation is mandatory for first-time offenders have seen significant decreases in repeat DUI offenses, Feuer said: New Mexico’s drunk-driving recidivism has declined by more than 60 percent since it enacted an IID mandate for first-time offenders, while West Virginia saw a drop of more than 70 percent.

California taxpayers won’t pay the cost; offenders would be required to pay for the IIDs. The pilot project would go from July 1, 2010 to Jan. 1, 2015, and the Department of Motor Vehicles would have to report to the Legislature by mid-2014 on the project’s effectiveness.

The state Senate now takes up the bill.