Ignition interlock in West Virginia

If you get a first DUI in West Virginia, an interlock is what lets you drive during your suspension, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety notes. Your blood alcohol concentration is how much alcohol is in your blood. Hit 0.15 percent or more and lose your license for the first time, and the state's program becomes a requirement.

A court can also take away or suspend your license if it decides you refused a secondary chemical test. Officers ask for this second test once the roadside screening is done.

When your license is revoked, it's gone for a fixed stretch of time. You can sign up for the program once that minimum period ends. For a first DUI offense, a revocation can last 6 months.

Signing up doesn't put you back on the road right away. The commissioner still has to approve you, and the interlock has to be in the car before that happens. Get your install booked early and you won't be stuck waiting when the approval lands. Give us a call and that appointment gets started.

There's a separate rule for anyone under 21 whose license was suspended for blowing 0.02 percent or higher. Once 30 days of the suspension have gone by, these drivers are allowed to sign up (see the statute).

Under 18? You can join once those 30 days pass or once you turn 18, whichever of the two comes later.

While you're in the program, you'll take drug tests however often and in whatever manner the commissioner decides. You can also show the commissioner, within 60 days of approval, that you've signed up for a safety and treatment course.

The program includes a user's fee, and it must be paid in advance. This fee isn't the same as what the interlock company bills you for the device.

There is: the Division of Motor Vehicles can decide you're indigent. Indigent means the state has concluded you can't cover the cost. If that's your situation, the fee for putting the device in and taking it out gets waived.

You'll receive paperwork showing that decision, and you present it to the interlock company as part of your application, per the state code. Bring it along to your appointment so the waiver applies from day one.

Smart Start and LifeSafer both do installs in the state. Smart Start advertises a monthly lease from $59.99. LifeSafer advertises $50 to $120 a month, plus installation at $70 to $150. Those numbers come from the companies' nationwide pricing, so what you're quoted for your own car may be different.

Trustpilot gives both companies a 4.6 out of 5 rating. Ring us and we'll hand your request to an interlock company serving West Virginia, and they arrange your appointment.

Nationwide, MADD says the device usually costs $70 to $150 to install and $60 to $80 for each month of use. Six months of that works out to roughly $430 to $630. Twelve months runs about $790 to $1,110.

These totals are for the device alone. The state's user fee sits on top of that, unless you've been found indigent and had your install and removal fees waived. Ready to have the device put in? Call us and we'll connect you with an installer in your state.