An ignition interlock device wires into your vehicle’s ignition and asks for a breath sample before the engine will start. If a letter from Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) has told you the Ignition Interlock Program now applies to you, most of what comes next is logistics: an interview, an install appointment, and a trip to an MPI location for a new licence card.
Two organisations own different parts of the program. MPI runs it through a unit called Driver Fitness, which delivers the Ignition Interlock Program alongside its other road safety programs. Smart Start installs the device and looks after it. Your dates and your conditions come from MPI; the hardware, the appointments and the day-to-day help come from us.
Key points
- The device asks for a breath sample before the engine will start, then prompts random rolling re-tests once you are driving.
- A missed or failed rolling re-test does not cut the engine. The device records it and may sound an alarm, and that record reaches MPI’s Driver Fitness unit.
- Your Service visit falls every 30 to 60 days. Let it lapse and the device goes into lockout, and the vehicle will not start.
- MPI tells you when the program applies to you, and your program notice sets your period and your conditions. Nothing here replaces that letter.
- Costs are not one number for every driver, and they change. The Manitoba program fees page carries the current schedule.
How the ignition interlock device works
The device connects to your vehicle’s electrical system. You blow into a handheld mouthpiece (people often call the whole thing a car breathalyzer), and the handset reads the alcohol in your breath. Below the preset limit, the vehicle starts as normal. Above it, the device holds the starter for a short wait before you can try again.
Rolling tests while you drive
The interlock keeps working after the engine turns over. At random points in a trip it prompts a rolling test, and you get several minutes to answer it. The device is built so a rolling re-test can be answered without pulling over.
A failed or missed rolling re-test will not shut off the engine mid-drive. The device records the event and may sound an alarm, which is your cue to stop somewhere safe and try again. Whatever it records is retrieved at your next Service visit.
Image alt text: Driver’s hand on a steering wheel with an ignition interlock handset and mouthpiece mounted on the dashboard beside the instrument cluster
When the program applies to you
MPI tells you. A letter arrives naming you as a participant in MPI’s Ignition Interlock Program, and your program notice sets out your period and the conditions attached to it. No article, this one included, can tell you your own dates.
So read the letter closely, and if anything in it is unclear, ask Driver Fitness before you book. Conditions are set case by case, which means what a friend went through is not a guide to what you will be asked for.
Enrolling: what MPI asks for first
Three things happen before an install, in this order.
Your letter from MPI arrives confirming that you are required to participate. You complete an interview with an MPI administrator. Then, once your approval is through, you book the install; the Manitoba install information page has both the booking form and the phone line.
Do not book ahead of that approval. The appointment cannot be finished without it.
What to bring to the install appointment
- Your MPI letter or approval
- Your valid Manitoba driver’s licence
- Proof that you own the vehicle. If the vehicle is not yours, bring a completed permission-to-install form and hand it over at the appointment
- Two pieces of identification, for the MPI visit straight afterwards
- A payment method. What you pay depends on your program, your vehicle and any options you add, and the Manitoba program fees page carries the current schedule
You need to be there in person: part of the appointment is blow training and paperwork, and neither can be done for you.
After the install, go straight to MPI
Take three things to an MPI location: your Install Notice Certificate, your completed Ignition Interlock Application, and two pieces of identification. That visit is what gets you your interlock-restricted licence. The device in the car is not the finish line, the licence card is.
Image alt text: Exterior of an automotive service centre at dusk, a technician working under the open hood of a grey sedan beside a red tool cart
Everyday driving
Most of the adjustment happens in the first week. The start-up test adds a little time to every trip, and the rolling re-tests stop feeling like an event after a few of them.
Three habits keep your readings clean:
- Rinse your mouth with water before you blow. Bread, sauces and mouthwash can all leave alcohol sitting in your mouth for a while.
- Give it fifteen minutes after eating, or after drinking anything but water.
- Keep the mouthpiece clean, dry and inside the vehicle.
If a reading looks wrong to you, what causes a false positive is more often something you ate, drank or rinsed with than the device itself.
If a test does not pass
A failed start-up test starts a short lockout. Wait it out, then try again. Several failures close together lengthen the wait.
Every result is recorded, pass or fail, and Driver Fitness reviews what comes off the device. If you are unsure what a recorded event means for your dates, ask MPI directly rather than guessing at it.
Service every 30 to 60 days
Your Service visit falls every 30 to 60 days, and it is not optional. Let it lapse and the device enters a lockout mode that stops the vehicle from starting.
At the visit, a technician retrieves the data from your device, checks the unit is working properly, and resets the clock for your next visit in 30 to 60 days. Most visits are short.
Manitoba has Smart Start service centres in Winnipeg (three of them), Brandon, Dauphin, Thompson, Flin Flon, Swan River, Winkler and Blumenort, so the trip every 30 to 60 days is not a drive to the city for everyone. Book the next one before you leave the current one.
Image alt text: Technician sitting in a vehicle’s driver seat inside a service bay, a rugged laptop on her lap and a cable running to the interlock handset in the dashboard
More than one vehicle, and vehicles you do not own
In the program you drive vehicles fitted with a device, and only those, so the arrangement has to match the way you drive week to week.
If you regularly drive more than one vehicle, each one may need its own device, if applicable, with its own Service visits and its own fees. Moving a device between vehicles is a booked appointment of its own (the schedule lists it as a vehicle transfer), not something to attempt yourself.
Special vehicles are handled separately. The schedule carries an install surcharge for special vehicles and a removal surcharge for special vehicles, if applicable; both sit on the Manitoba program fees page linked above, because the amounts change.
For a vehicle you do not own, the permission-to-install form is what makes the install possible, and it has to be completed and in your hand at the appointment.
Other drivers in your household
Other licensed drivers can operate a vehicle with an interlock installed. They provide a breath sample the same way you do, and their rolling re-tests are recorded the same way. Walk them through a blow before their first solo trip, because the technique is easy but not obvious.
One caution: anything that looks like an attempt to get around the device can be recorded as tampering. If you are not sure whether something counts, ask Smart Start Canada first.
Image alt text: A family sedan and a pickup truck parked side by side on a residential driveway at sunset, bare trees and a beige house behind them
Finishing the program and removing the device
When your period ends and MPI confirms your conditions are met, you book a removal appointment. The technician takes the device out and puts the vehicle’s wiring back the way it was. A removal surcharge applies for special vehicles, if applicable.
Your end date is not always the date printed on your first letter. Missed Service visits and recorded events can move it, so treat that date as something to confirm with MPI rather than something to count down to.
After removal, check with MPI that your licence has been updated. The paperwork does not close itself.
Image alt text: View through a windshield of a straight prairie highway, a driver’s hand resting on the steering wheel holding car keys in the morning sun
Frequently asked questions
What does an ignition interlock do?
It is a breath-alcohol screening device wired into your vehicle. It requires a breath sample before the engine will start, and if alcohol is detected above the preset limit the vehicle will not start until the lockout has passed.
Can I drink one beer with an interlock?
There is no reliable way to predict that. Body size, timing and how quickly your body clears alcohol all move the reading, so one drink is not a safe bet. If you drink at all, leave plenty of time before you go near the vehicle.
Do interlock devices track you?
The device records testing activity: samples, results, start-ups and rolling re-tests, with times attached. That record is retrieved at your Service visit and reviewed by Driver Fitness. Some add-ons, such as a camera or a modem, can be fitted to a unit if applicable, so ask Smart Start Canada what is on yours.
Can someone else drive my vehicle?
Yes. Other licensed drivers can use it, and they have to provide a breath sample to start the engine and answer any rolling re-test. Show them how before they drive it alone.
How long will an interlock detect alcohol?
It varies by person and by what you drank. Rather than working to a fixed number of hours, wait until you are clear before you drive.
How much does an ignition interlock cost in Manitoba?
Costs vary. What you pay depends on your program, your vehicle and any options you add, and MPI applies its own program fees separately from Smart Start’s. The current Manitoba program fees schedule is on our site, and MPI can confirm its own.
How do I choose a service centre if I live outside Winnipeg?
Pick one you can reach every 30 to 60 days in any weather, not the one that looks closest on a map in July. Manitoba has service centres in Brandon, Dauphin, Thompson, Flin Flon, Swan River, Winkler and Blumenort as well as Winnipeg. If you split the year between communities, ask about coordinating visits near wherever you will be living.
What should I do if I am worried about a false positive?
Switch to alcohol-free mouthwash and toothpaste, and keep the same short routine before every test so your results stay consistent day to day. If a reading looks wrong, write down what you ate, drank or used, then contact us promptly so it can be documented.
What paperwork should I keep?
Keep your MPI letter, your Install Notice Certificate, your Service receipts, and any written approvals covering situations like a vehicle you do not own. A complete paper trail is the quickest way to settle a disagreement about dates.
Booking your install with Smart Start Canada
Smart Start Canada is proudly Canadian, services All Provinces, and is backed by more than 1.1 million installations. If your MPI approval is through and you are ready to book an install in Manitoba, contact us to find your nearest service centre and set a time.
Disclaimer: This article is general information only. Program rules and requirements vary by province and territory and change over time. Confirm the details that apply to you with Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) or with Smart Start Canada before acting on anything here.