Opinion | AB 366: A smart fix to a preventable problem

Every year, thousands of Californians walk out their front doors never to return home—not because of war or natural disasters, but because of drunk driving. These are lives ended in an instant. Families shattered. Futures stolen. And the tragic part? We know these deaths are preventable. We have the data and we have the tools. Now we need political will. That’s why Assembly Bill 366 must become law.

AB 366, introduced by Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) and co-authored by Senator Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), would require all individuals convicted of driving under the influence—first-time offenders included—to install ignition interlock devices (IIDs) in their vehicles. These devices act as in-vehicle breathalyzers, preventing a car from starting if the driver is impaired. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IIDs reduce repeat DUI offenses by 70% while installed.

The results speak for themselves. In states that have mandated IIDs for all DUI offenses, drunk driving deaths have decreased by up to 26%. In California alone, these devices stopped more than 30,500 attempts to drive under the influence just last year. Nationally, ignition interlocks have blocked more than 29 million attempts to start a vehicle while impaired over the past decade. And public sentiment is on our side—80% of drivers support requiring IIDs for all DUI offenders, according to a national survey.

AB 366 ensures these protections not only continue but expand—so we don’t lose more lives to a crime that should never happen in the first place.

The urgency of this legislation is no longer abstract. It’s deeply personal.

This past Christmas, Senator Archuleta’s family was forever changed when his 30-year-old grandchild, Alex Robles, was killed in a horrific DUI crash. Alex was driving near CA-18 in Apple Valley when a suspected drunk driver collided with his vehicle. Alex died at the scene. 

A few weeks ago, three more lives were stolen on the Pomona Freeway. A wrong-way driver, under the influence, crashed head-on into another vehicle, killing all three passengers. 

Innocent lives. Gone in seconds.

And the scope of this crisis in Los Angeles County is staggering. In 2021 alone, 1,370 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes across the county—a 16% increase from the previous year. That’s nearly four preventable deaths every single day, in just one county. The evidence is overwhelming: without bold legislative action, more families will continue to suffer unimaginable loss.

As someone who advocates on behalf of 80 cities across Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, I can say with conviction that AB 366 is not about punishment, it’s about prevention. Our communities are grappling with the devastating impact of impaired driving at every level. We’ve seen the data, we’ve heard the stories, and we’ve mourned too many.

This is a road safety issue. It’s a public health issue. But most of all, it’s a moral issue. How many more lives must we lose before we act with the urgency this crisis demands?

With AB 366, we have the opportunity to draw a line in the sand and say: enough. We can no longer allow drunk driving to be treated as a lapse in judgment. It is a deadly act with deadly consequences. Technology to stop it exists. The evidence to support it is indisputable. The will to protect our residents must now follow.