Drink driving device could cut road deaths

The installation of alcohol interlock devices on all new vehicles could reduce alcohol-related deaths on US roads by 85%, new research claims.

The devices prevent drunk drivers from starting the engine working in a similar way to a breathalyser requiring the driver to breathe into the machine to measure their blood alcohol content.

If the reading is above the legal limit the vehicle will not start.

Convicted drunk drivers in the majority of US states are already required to have the devices installed to prevent reoffending.

However now researchers at the University of Michigan are suggesting the devices be fitted to all new cars as standard – a move they estimate would prevent more than 59,000 crash deaths – a reduction of 85%.

“Alcohol interlocks are used very effectively in all 50 states as a component of sentencing or as a condition for having a licence reinstated after DUIs, but this only works for the drunk drivers caught by police and it doesn’t catch the people who choose to drive without a licence to avoid having the interlock installed,” said lead author Dr Patrick Carter, an emergency physician with the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor.

“If we decided that every new car should have an alcohol ignition interlock that’s seamless to use for the driver and doesn’t take any time or effort, we suddenly have a way to significantly reduce fatalities and injuries that doesn’t rely solely on police.”

As many as 1.25 million non-fatal injuries would also be prevented by the installation of interlock devices over a period of 15 years, researchers claim. Their installation would be of most benefit to drivers aged between 21 and 29-years-old, deemed to be at highest risk of alcohol-related car crashes.

While it would cost around US$400 to install each device, researchers have said the cost savings to society would be outweighed within three years, saving around US$343 billion in unintentional injury costs over the 15-year time frame.