A study of more than 19,000 first-time drunk driving offenders found that interlocks that prevent the vehicle from starting if the driver has been drinking can dramatically reduce driving while intoxicated charges. The breath-testing devices reduced drunk driving charges by 60 percent compared to first-offenders who did not install the devices.

The study examined the records of 1,461 first time DWI offenders who had interlocks installed in their vehicles. The researchers compared them to 17,562 first offenders who did not use the devices. The two groups were matched up by age, gender, and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the time of arrest.

"We found that first-time offenders who had interlock devices were 60 percent less likely to have a repeat offense than those who did not use interlock devices," said Paul Marques, PhD, with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. "This study on first-time offenders reinforces prior studies on this issue that show a 65 percent reduction in drunk driving while interlocks are installed."

Marques estimated that for every dollar spent on interlocks for first offenders, the public saves $3.

Opportunity to Change Behavior

Four states -- New Mexico, Louisiana, Arizona and Illinois -- have laws that mandate ignition interlock devices for those convicted of first offense drunk driving. Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other advocacy groups are urging other states to pass mandatory interlocks.

"The idea that there should be any important difference between the risk posed by a first offender and a repeat offender is unsupported," Marques said in a news release. "The average first offender has driven drunk many times before he or she was arrested. The big risk difference is between non-offenders and first offenders. The risk difference between first offenders and repeat offenders is small by comparison."

"For so many years we've managed DWIs as criminals, but this is more then just a crime issue since many DWI offenders are alcohol dependent. Interlocks present an opportunity to help change behavior rather than simply punishing or incarcerating the offender," Marques says. "It's not enough to revoke a license - 75 percent of all people with revoked licenses drive anyway - but you don't want to sentence an entire family to poverty if they're dependent on that driver getting to and from his or her job. By installing an interlock, the risk that the DWI offender poses is controlled, and interlocks become a public benefit."

Related Information:

• MADD Wants to Eliminate Drunk Driving
  
• The Penalties and Costs of Drunk Driving
  
• Drunk Driving Email Course

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