Device could cut drink driving deaths by 85%

The installation of breathalyser devices on all new vehicles to prevent drunk drivers from starting the engine could reduce alcohol-related deaths on US roads by 85%, new research suggests.

Research suggests the installation of alcohol interlock devices on all new motor vehicles could reduce alcohol-related crash deaths by 85%

In the majority of US states, convicted drink drivers are required to have an alcohol interlock device, or ignition interlock device, installed in their motor to prevent them from driving under the influence of alcohol in future.

It works in a similar manner to a breathalyser, requiring the driver to breathe into the machine to measure their blood alcohol content and if the reading is above the legal limit the vehicle will not start.

Now, researchers at the University of Michigan Injury Centre and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute have studied the impact of installing alcohol interlock devices on all new vehicles over a 15-year period, published in the American Journal of Public Health.

The researchers estimate that such a move could 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.”

Furthermore, as many as 1.25 million non-fatal injuries would also be prevented by the installation of interlock devices.

The universal installation of these devices would prove most beneficial for drivers aged between 21 and 29-years-old, who are deemed to be at highest risk of alcohol-related car crashes, reducing death rates and non-fatal injuries by approximately 35%.

In addition, installing the machines would save around US$343 billion in unintentional injury costs over the 15-year time frame.

The installation costs would be around US$400 per device, but the researchers believe the cost savings to society would outweigh this within three years.