We all know what we've been put through with these companies. I just started a petition at Change.org to take the fight to the next level.

Right now, what counts most is sheer numbers—the total count of signatures is what makes legislators and regulators sit up and take notice, no matter where people sign from. Please sign and share:

https://c.org/GMLVV4knY9

The Issue

Across the United States, hundreds of thousands of drivers at any given time are mandated to maintain interlock devices managed by a small number of private-equity-owned vendors, with zero market choice and binding rental contracts routinely concealed until the device is already bolted into the car.

We call upon state legislatures, Attorneys General, and the NHTSA to establish baseline consumer protections addressing these systemic failures:

1. Lethal Hardware Failures, Rolling Retests & Built-In Revenue Streams

Many providers deploy legacy hardware that hasn't seen meaningful updates in over a decade. These devices cause heavy parasitic electrical draws, false lockouts, and catastrophic safety hazards — including mouthpieces falling off, cars shutting down on freeways at 70 mph, and drivers trapped in sub-zero temperatures. Mandated "rolling retests" require drivers to operate an electronic device at highway speeds and in extreme weather, raising serious legal questions under hands-free and distracted-driving laws in many states. Whatever the intent, the result is a system where equipment failures function as a built-in revenue stream through mandatory lockout and reset fees.

The Demand: Require strict hardware reliability standards, eliminate dangerous rolling retests that conflict with distracted-driving laws, and mandate independent engineering audits to protect motorist safety.

2. Predatory Fees & Lack of Price Regulation

Because users are legally compelled to maintain these devices under threat of probation revocation, operators face zero market pressure to keep prices fair, subjecting users to hidden fees and sudden rate hikes buried in fine print.

The Demand: Implement state-enforced price caps, fee transparency, and mandatory upfront contract disclosure before installation.

3. Procedural Traps & Extended Sentences

Users who successfully complete their requirements are often trapped indefinitely by administrative delays, uncredited calibration windows, or software glitches that extend their required rental period.

The Demand: Establish streamlined removal protocols, independent dispute resolution, and statutory penalties for intentional compliance delays.

4. Workplace Disruption & Systemic Accountability

State mandates ignore the broader economic ripple effects. When defective devices drain vehicle batteries overnight, it strands workers, harms family well-being, and disrupts local businesses that rely on employees showing up on time.

The Demand: Protect consumers and local workforces from penalties caused by hardware and battery failures, holding private-equity-backed providers fully accountable for equipment reliability.

Ignition interlock devices do not live in a vacuum. They are installed in family vehicles shared by spouses, teenagers, and household members who never received a DUI. Day after day, these same shared vehicles transport children to school and employees to work, dragging innocent families and local businesses into an unregulated system.

Sign this petition to demand fair pricing, reliable hardware, transparent contracts, and strict regulatory oversight for all ignition interlock programs.

I spent the last few weeks pulling primary source documents from twelve car manufacturers, two battery companies, a competing interlock company's own testing, and a federal court record — and every single one of them says the same thing Intoxalock has been telling you isn't true.

GM's own service documentation says a "normal" current draw on a parked car is 30 to 50 milliamps. The Intoxalock 1001A is reported to draw 150 to 500 milliamps — while your car is just sitting there, off. That's not a rounding error. That's three to ten times over what GM considers normal before something starts failing.

Ford's own upfitter guide says splicing into powertrain wiring isn't acceptable. Toyota, Jeep, BMW, and Tesla all have warranty language that specifically excludes damage from exactly this kind of aftermarket device. LifeSafer ran third-party testing and found their own device draws four times less than the 1001A. And in federal court — Mallory v. Consumer Safety Technology, filed in Tennessee — it's on the record, undisputed, that the device runs 24/7 and constantly drains and damages the battery. Intoxalock didn't argue that point. They just moved to force it into arbitration instead.

None of this is a guess. It's published, and if you've been told your battery, your alternator, or your car's electrical system is "just old" or "not our problem" — I'd bet money nobody at Intoxalock ever mentioned any of the above to you.

I also went and found 115 of you. Documented, dated, sourced complaints — batteries, starters, alternators, wiring, electrical systems and in a couple of cases, actual fires — going back years, all in one place with links to the originals.

Full writeup is linked below.

https://intoxalockedout.substack.com/p/intoxalock-told-you-it-was-your-battery

If you're dealing with this right now, you're not imagining it, and you're not alone.

When states pass mandatory ignition interlock laws, who do you actually think is writing the legislation?

It turns out it is not independent public safety nonprofits. It is a trade association of the very commercial manufacturers who profit from every single device installed, leased, and serviced. And they operate out of a mailbox at a luxury yacht marina in North Palm Beach, Florida.

I just published a deep dive investigating SAFE (Safety and Advocacy For Empowerment), formerly known as the Coalition of Ignition Interlock Manufacturers (CIIM). They changed their name after telling the New York Times that nobody was looking for distracted driving crashes caused by their devices, slapped federal agency logos on their website, and started lobbying lawmakers to expand their captive markets.

From the rebranding out of a marine mail drop to the revolving door of industry executives leading public safety initiatives, this is the story of how the interlock industry writes its own rules and hides behind the language of grief while collecting the checks.

You can read the full investigation here:

https://intoxalockedout.substack.com/p/meet-safe-the-trade-association-that

Hey everyone,

I run IntoxalockedOut (intoxalockedout.substack.com), an independent consumer advocacy publication tracking compliance trade practices and automotive equipment safety. I'm sharing some of our investigative reporting and consumer stories here and across advocacy groups to shine a light on what drivers are actually facing.

Seven years ago, The New York Times published an investigative piece detailing a fatal Texas crash where an 18-year-old girl lost her life after a driver was distracted by an in-motion ignition interlock "rolling retest." NHTSA originally tried to mandate that drivers safely pull over before testing back in 2010, but the industry lobbied against it, arguing 99% of tests had to happen in motion. NHTSA backed down.

Since then? Nothing. No federal safety rules on rolling retests, no recalls, and a thriving compliance apparatus completely insulated from the road hazards drivers actually face.

I spent months compiling consumer safety reports, BBB filings, and public records from 2022 through August 2026. The stories we've documented are horrifying: vehicles abruptly shutting down at 60–70 MPH on active interstate highways, losing power steering and braking, drivers nearly colliding with semi-trucks, and others running off the road entirely because they were terrified of missing a timed breath test. On top of that, drivers frequently deal with equipment freezing up, false positives, and friction-fit mouthpieces that literally fall out mid-test or fail to register properly.

I've officially filed a formal safety-defect petition with the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (Complaint #11755106) to force a look at whether these recurring equipment failures meet the federal standard for a safety recall.

You can read the full investigation, complete with the documentation, consumer reports, and the history of how this regulatory blind spot was created, live on the Substack publication.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who has navigated—or survived—these devices on the highway. How are we still accepting that "pulling over isn't always possible" as an acceptable safety answer at 70 miles per hour?

Read the full report here:

https://intoxalockedout.substack.com/p/how-loud-must-i-speak-before-someone

Lately I have been looking into how the competitors of Intoxalock are presenting themselves. Unfortunately, I am not liking what I am seeing. Smart Start made this post yesterday on its LinkedIn page. This is where they present themselves to the industry, orgnizations like MADD and the government.

So on LinkedIn works a lot like Facebook. If you have a profile you can comment. (Hint, hint). Here was my comment.

>"Funny how that 4.6 rating relies entirely on front-loaded, pre-install reviews gathered when customers are just trying to get through the panic of signing up. It's real easy to look good when you capture people at the starting line—try looking at what those scores actually say six months into a mandatory contract.

>Trust Pilot is the review platform you pay for. Just like your competition you are 1 star across every other platform..yelp, consumer reports, pissed consumer. And 1.02 with the BBB.

>It defies human nature for a court-ordered person who has to blow into a device to start his car to wake up and say I am going to leave a nice 5 star review of my ignition interlock. Nobody does that!

>Whatever happened to business ethics in America?

>Perhaps your private equity owned business should change course and figure out why your customers have rated you so badly and correct the problems your customers are facing instead of presenting false realities to the American people and my government."

A W-9 has one purpose. It is the IRS form a company collects before paying someone money — at least $600 — formal enough to require federal tax reporting. It is not for a pen. It is not for a lunch. It is not for a conference sponsorship. It is for cold hard cash.

In December 2025, Intoxalock — owned by L. Catterton private equity — posted a job listing for a Partner Success Manager. The posting named its "partners" explicitly: law firms, courts, probation offices, judges, DUI schools, and treatment facilities.

Under "Contract & Partnership Operations," the posting stated:

"Obtain W9s from paid partners as required."

Courts. Probation offices. Judges. On a list of paid partners. With W-9 forms required.

The people on that list are not neutral parties. They are the decision-makers. They decide which vendor a court-ordered person uses. They decide whether a violation gets reported. They decide whether a program gets extended.

What is the mindset of a private equity firm that looks at a judge and sees a partner?

This publication raises one question and one question only: who exactly is being paid — and for what?

For the full story: https://intoxalockedout.substack.com/p/obtain-w-9s-from-paid-partners-as

— David Lazarus | Founder, IntoxaLockedOut™

#BusinessEthics #ConsumerProtection #CorporateAccountability #PublicCorruption #IntoxaLockedOut

UPDATE: Badges, Ratings, and Unearned Endorsements Keep Coming Down — And APPA Is Next

When you catch Intoxalock lying in real-time and expose them publicly, their unearned authority badges start coming down fast.

If you’ve been following the open letters, here are the recent wins:

1. The MADD Logo Scrubbed: After issuing an open letter calling out Intoxalock's unverified use of Mothers Against Drunk Driving branding, the logo was quietly pulled from Intoxalock's platform. (Meanwhile, MADD CEO Stacey D. Stewart formally announced an official corporate partnership with Smart Start on Dec 18, 2024, following a $50,000 corporate gift—showing where those non-profit ties really lie).
2. The AAA Badge Removed: A second open letter challenged Intoxalock's deceptive references to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. That seal was removed shortly after.
3. The BBB "A+" Fake Rating Is GONE: Following a formal complaint and public exposure regarding their misleading letter-grade claims, Intoxalock’s BBB page no longer displays an A+ rating. It now simply displays "Accredited."

Why I'm Targeting the APPA (American Probation and Parole Association) Next

The APPA endorsement logo is still up on Intoxalock's platform, and I am actively working on taking that one down next.

Why is the APPA connection so critical? Because of how Intoxalock recruits its sales force. Corporate job listings for Intoxalock "Partner Success Managers" explicitly task reps with building "association partnerships," tracking referral numbers, and collecting signed IRS W-9 tax forms from "paid partners" inside court and probation ecosystems.

Intoxalock boasting a national probation association seal while simultaneously running a commercial referral-tracking network aimed at probation officers is an outrageous conflict of interest.

The Bottom Line

There is a massive difference between Intoxalock boasting an "A+" quality score or a prestigious national partnership and simply paying annual fees to be listed.

What matters most isn't just correcting marketing graphics on a website—it is confronting what Intoxalock presents to state governments, courts, probation officers, and vulnerable consumers.

When Intoxalock presents false ratings, unauthorized non-profit endorsements, and misleading authority seals to judicial bodies, they construct a fake illusion of prestige and government-backed reliability. That false narrative is then used to trap court-ordered drivers in a system driven by false positives, lockout fees, and 6-month program extensions.

Catching Intoxalock lying in real-time strips away their cover. Every badge that comes down makes it harder for them to hide behind fake authority.

When an ignition interlock flags a failed test or a false positive, it logs you right then and there as an "impaired driver" behind the wheel.

So if the device is reporting that an intoxicated driver is actively in a vehicle... why isn't anyone coming?

Because public safety isn't the objective. Revenue is.

If these systems were actually designed to stop drunk driving in real-time, a high BAC alert would dispatch help or law enforcement immediately. Instead, no one shows up. The vendor lets you sit there, quietly collects a $75+ "lockout fee" to unlock your car, and holds the report in their back pocket.

Then, weeks or months later—for a glitch, a false positive, or an error that was never your fault—that single piece of data is handed to your probation officer or the state. Just like that, you’re slapped with a six-month program extension and hundreds more in mandatory monthly fees.

They don't stop a crime in progress. They monetize the reporting.

In Part 64, I break down the ultimate trap: how private interlock companies built a multi-million dollar surveillance business that ignores real-time safety, exploits false positives for cash, and keeps court-ordered drivers trapped in endless program extensions.

Click the link below for the full story. I publish new articles daily. My articles are ALWAYS free and will ALWAYS remain that way. So hit the subscribe button in the substack.

https://intoxalockedout.substack.com/p/if-they-know-where-you-are-why-isnt

When an ignition interlock flags a failed test or a false positive, it logs you right then and there as an "impaired driver" behind the wheel.

So if the device is reporting that an intoxicated driver is actively in a vehicle... why isn't anyone coming?

Because public safety isn't the objective. Revenue is.

If these systems were actually designed to stop drunk driving in real-time, a high BAC alert would dispatch help or law enforcement immediately. Instead, no one shows up. The vendor lets you sit there, quietly collects a $75+ "lockout fee" to unlock your car, and holds the report in their back pocket.

Then, weeks or months later—for a glitch, a false positive, or an error that was never your fault—that single piece of data is handed to your probation officer or the state. Just like that, you’re slapped with a six-month program extension and hundreds more in mandatory monthly fees.

They don't stop a crime in progress. They monetize the reporting.

In Part 64, I break down the ultimate trap: how private interlock companies built a multi-million dollar surveillance business that ignores real-time safety, exploits false positives for cash, and keeps court-ordered drivers trapped in endless program extensions.

Click below for the full report on my substack. I publish daily. My substacks are always free to subscribe so hit the subscribe button.

https://intoxalockedout.substack.com/p/if-they-know-where-you-are-why-isnt

A question kept coming back from people living inside these programs: What about the competition? If Intoxalock is this bad, are the alternatives any better?

So I turned the exact same forensic lens on Smart Start—the company that markets itself as the industry leader, the world’s largest provider, and the highest-rated on Trustpilot.

What I found is that the competition isn’t actual competition. It is the exact same architecture, owned by different billionaires, wearing different names.

The Highlights from Part 63:

• Owned by Private Equity: Smart Start isn't a small independent shop; it’s owned by Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO), an asset manager handling nearly $500B.
• 4 Brands, 1 Address: Section 4.5 of Smart Start's privacy policy reveals that 1A Smart Start, RoadGuard Interlock, Low Cost Interlock, and A Simple Interlock are all the same corporate family operating out of the exact same Grapevine, Texas address.
• The Illusion in NY: On New York’s DCJS certified list, Smart Start and RoadGuard are presented as separate options. A consumer choosing between them isn't getting a competitive choice—they're choosing between two brands owned by the exact same firm.
• Worse Than Intoxalock's Fine Print: Smart Start’s contract includes a $0 liability cap (your sole remedy is for them to fix the box—no towing or battery reimbursements), a 35% collection fee, mandatory individual arbitration, and a clause stating you owe them money even if you are incarcerated or your car is inoperable.
• The Same Trustpilot Strategy: While four independent platforms (BBB, Yelp, PissedConsumer, ConsumerAffairs) rate Smart Start between 1.0 and 1.4 stars, their paid Trustpilot subscription sits at 4.6 stars—driven by 37,000+ short, 5-star reviews written before installation.

The broader picture? Every major interlock provider in America (Intoxalock, Smart Start/RoadGuard, LifeSafer) is owned by private equity. A court-ordered driver doesn't choose a vendor; they just choose which private equity fund gets their monthly payment.

https://intoxalockedout.substack.com/p/meet-smart-start-four-brands-one