DECEMBER 12, 2006
Viewpoint
By Glynn Birch
Tapping Technology to Battle Drunk Driving
Ignition interlock devices can be a powerful tool in keeping repeat offenders from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated
Editors' note: This is the second of two perspectives on the effectiveness of so-called ignition interlock devices, designed to keep people from driving while intoxicated (see BusinessWeek.com, 11/30/06, "Technology Alone Won't Tackle Drunk Driving").
While we have made extraordinary progress over the last 26 years in the fight against drunk driving, it's still hard to believe that nearly 1,000 families get the knock at the door every month to be informed that a loved one has been killed in a senseless and preventable drunk-driving crash. This is why Mothers Against Drunk Driving launched what it's calling the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving to eradicate this devastating public health threat.
Progress against drunk driving has stalled in recent years. And measures to stop drunks from driving, such as license suspension, aren't having the intended effect. For instance, two-thirds of those whose licenses are suspended for driving while under the influence of alcohol, or DUI, drive anyway.
That's why MADD—along with partners in federal and state government, law enforcement, the automobile industry, and distilled-spirits companies—believe the new campaign to eliminate, not reduce, drunk driving is the perfect antidote to the problem at hand.
Two Crucial Goals It's an audacious goal, but we know it can be done. The strategy involves using proven tactics, like high-visibility enforcement and grassroots mobilization, but the key to success relies on two important elements:
• The full implementation of current alcohol ignition interlock technologies, including laws that require alcohol ignition interlocks, which prevent a car from starting if a driver has had too much alcohol, for all convicted drunk drivers.
• The exploration and support of future advancements in technology that allow a vehicle to recognize if a driver is drunk and to stop the driver from operating that vehicle. This "smart technology" stops the drunk driver from harming or killing himself and other innocent people.
Tech on Trial In a testament to Americans' intolerance of drunk driving, a recent poll found that 85% of the public supports the mandatory installation of interlocks in the vehicles of repeat offenders of laws against driving while intoxicated, or DWI, and 65% also support the mandatory installation of interlocks for first-time offenders. Americans also support advances in "smart technology" to prevent drivers from driving drunk by a 4-to-1 margin. The measure also has the support of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
Of course, bold measures are usually met with opposition. In this case, some of the most vocal detractors of interlocks are, not surprisingly, the DUI defense attorneys whose clients face the loss of driving privileges and jail if they're caught driving drunk. At stake for the community, however, are the innocent people that could be killed or injured if the most effective tool to prevent drunk driving, especially among repeat offenders, is not used.
If it were an episode of Law and Order, the scene would unfold like this: A man sits before the court, on trial for his third DUI offense. His attorney argues against a mandatory interlock. He says, "The technology is inaccurate, easily circumvented, and ineffective." He adds: "My client needs rehabilitation. He has a disease. He should be treated, not punished."
The defense attorneys, of course, are just doing their jobs—but often by distorting the facts and exploiting legal loopholes that sometimes result in rewarding crimes such as drunk driving.
New Mexico's Success Everyone is entitled to their own opinions on the matter, but they aren't entitled to their own version of the facts. There are some who still doubt the effectiveness of interlocks, citing a 2005 study by the California Motor Vehicles Dept. Opponents claim the study indicates that offenders who were sentenced to ignition interlock devices had an increased crash risk.
However, the failure in California, as several researchers including the study's authors have pointed out, isn't the fault of the devices—it's a failure of the program to get the devices installed on offenders' vehicles. Those studies that look at offenders who have interlocks installed find that these offenders have significantly fewer repeat offenses while interlocks are on their vehicles. There are many studies that prove the effectiveness of interlocks.
Interlock devices are up to 90% effective while installed in a vehicle, yet it's estimated that only one out of eight convicted drunk drivers each year currently gets the device, and the majority are repeat offenders. Research shows that the overwhelming majority of people arrested for drunk driving have driven drunk more than 50 times before their first arrest.
New Mexico, which since June, 2005, has mandated interlocks for first offenders, is the best model of successful judicial ignition interlock programs. The initial results are encouraging. Last year, alcohol-related fatalities in New Mexico dropped by nearly 12% from the previous year.
Weapon Removal Installing interlocks on all convicted drunk drivers' vehicles would save approximately 4,000 lives a year. I only wish my son could have been one of those lives saved. On May 3, 1988, Courtney was playing with his two older cousins at his grandmother's house. Hearing the alluring music of an ice cream truck, Courtney followed his cousins outside. That's when the offender's car came barreling down the street and hit Courtney at 70 mph, dragging his small body more than 150 feet before the car stopped. My son was killed instantly.
The drunk driver had a blood-alcohol level of .26 at the time of the crash and was driving with a revoked license and three prior DUI convictions. The driver would have been a prime candidate for an interlock. Instead, he killed my son and got 15 years in prison.
With current ignition interlocks and future technology, we finally have the ability to separate potential killers—drunk drivers—from their weapon, an automobile. We must use it.
Just like in a courtroom drama, the prosecution rests. The verdict: Interlocks and new technology will save lives.
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