Pennsylvania lawmakers, PennDOT and stakeholders push to simplify ignition‑interlock process after hearings on Act 33

Pennsylvania legislators, PennDOT officials and treatment‑court judges told a joint public hearing of the Senate and House Transportation Committees that the state’s ignition interlock system is confusing, slow and costly for people trying to comply with DUI sanctions and reenter the workforce.

At the hearing, witnesses described a mail‑only application process created under Act 33 of 2016 that often leaves applicants without a clear eligibility date and can require repeated uninstalls and reinstallations of interlock devices. “The application for Pennsylvania’s Ignition Interlock Limited License is complex, cumbersome, and full of opportunities for improvement,” said Chase Glasser, a board member of the SAFE Coalition. He urged statutory changes and administrative modernization, including online applications and email communications.

The testimony underscored why lawmakers and PennDOT say reform matters. PennDOT cited its crash facts and statistics: 25 percent of all traffic fatalities in the Commonwealth were alcohol related, and PennDOT reported impaired‑driver fatalities fell from 429 in 2023 to 342 in 2024. Research offered at the hearing described ignition interlocks as effective: vendors and advocates said interlocks reduce repeat offenses by roughly 70–75 percent while installed.

Jake Prigler, a…