DUI in Illinois – the MDDP and BAIID device
Even if your Illinois license is suspended for DUI, you might still drive with the MDDP and BAIID
You’ve been arrested for DUI in Illinois – and along with a criminal case, your license has been suspended. Depending on if you submitted to a breath (blow) or blood test, or if you refused, your license could be suspended for between six and 12 months. If your depend on your car for work, child care, or school, you could be looking at a serious problem, and driving on a suspended or revoked license is against the law. So, if this is your first DUI arrest (also known as a “first-time offender”), what are your options? Of course, any good Illinois DUI lawyer will attempt to challenge your summary suspension by filing a Petition to Rescind the Statutory Summary Suspension. But if your summary suspension is not rescinded and your license remains in place, you may be eligible for a Monitoring Device Driving Permit (MDDP in Illinois) after you have a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device, or BAIID, installed on your car. A breath interlock device is a device that requires the driver to blow into a machine which measures the breath alcohol content of that person before unlocking the ignition in the car, thus allowing the car to start. In simpler terms, the BAIID device measures your breath alcohol content, and if you pass, you can start your car and continue driving – even while you are fighting your summary suspension and criminal case.
To qualify for a MDDP, a driver must:
- Be older than 18 years of age;
- Be a first-time DUI offender who has never had a statutory summary suspension, has not been convicted of DUI or received court supervision in a DUI case in Illinois, or been convicted of DUI in any other state in the past five years from the date of their DUI arrest in Illinois;
- Have had a valid license before their DUI arrest.
- Any DUI arrest which included death or great bodily harm to another person
- A conviction for reckless homicide or aggravated DUI that resulted in a death.
How do I get a MDDP and BAIID device?
In most cases, the Secretary of State will send an eligible driver a MDDP application in the mail after your arrest for DUI and subsequent summary suspension of your driving privileges. You must complete the application and return it to the Secretary of State’s office. The MDDP program application and terms and conditions can also be found online at www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/baiidpub.html. If you qualify for a MDDP and can pay the required fees, the Secretary of State will issue you a MDDP. Once it is issued, you will have two weeks – 14 days – to have a BAIID device installed on any and all vehicles you may drive during the period of your summary suspension. You are required to contact an approved vendor, pay the installation and monthly monitoring fees.So how much does the MDDP and BAIID cost?
The biggest drawback of the MDDP and the BAIID device for many people is the monthly cost it entails, although compared to the possible penalties of being convicted of driving on a suspended or revoked license, the cost truly isn’t that much. On average, the Illinois Secretary of State estimated the fees as follows:- Installation fees: $85 to $100
- Monthly BAIID rental: $80
- Monthly monitoring fees: $30 (which must be paid to the Secretary of State before a MDDP will be issued).
