Fitting Europe's cars with alcohol interlocks?
A panel of experts chaired by Ewa Hedkvist Petersen, MEP met to discuss the introduction of alcohol interlocks in Europe at Autoworld in Brussels on 2 March 2005.
The lunch debate demonstrated the existence of still important psychological barriers in society despite higher reliability and technical improvements of most recent alcolocks. "The introduction of alcohol interlocks should be seen as a solution, not a problem. Alcolocks effectively cut the risk of drink driving accidents but still lack the strong political support needed to create wider public acceptance", said Jörg Beckmann, Executive Director of ETSC.
Society often feels uncomfortable at the idea of having alcohol interlocks installed in all cars. It is therefore up to decision-makers to demonstrate how benefits outweigh both the economic and social costs. This will increase public acceptance and bring clarity as to which groups are targeted by the device. Today alcolocks are mainly used with frequent drink driving offenders' rehabilitation programmes or with drivers in the commercial transport sector.
Actual stage of development and cost of alcohol interlocks
Alcohol interlocks may have technical flaws as stated by Ward Vanlaar Belgium Road Safety Institute who coordinates an EU-funded project. These problems need to be addressed preventively otherwise "certain technical issues may turn into important problems that need to be resolved through careful planning and thorough testing".
But overall alcolocks have reached an advanced stage of maturity. Johannes Lagois from Dräger Safety AG presented the current technical possibilities and production costs of a Dräger Model alcohol interlock as an example.
The cost of a standard alcohol interlock is 1500 euros and is generally not subsidized by the government to avoid blocking competition amongst different alcolocks producers and enable a further decrease in price. Government financial support tends not to exist for rehabilitation programmes. In these countries the public feels that the government should not subsidise driver rehabilitation programmes but drivers should carry their own costs. "If alcohol interlocks were mass produced, their price could drop to between 300 and 500 euros", said Lagois.
The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) is currently defining the test methods and performance requirements for alcohol interlocks to receive European standards certifications, while the industry is furthering research into impairment detection. Volvo Trucks has recognized the existing need for such devices in an early stage in the commercial sector. It has become a leader in research into systems that can detect all types of impairment, including fatigue of truck drivers. "Our experience showed that an increasing demand for these systems exists in the truck market and we are therefore currently developing highly reliable and technically feasible devices including alcolocks, covering impairment in this case due to alcohol, to fulfill this market need. Volvo already provides for two years its customers with alcohol interlocks, and its service organization is fully educated to deal with it," says Lars-Göran Löwenadler Safety Director for Volvo Trucks.
Target groups and public acceptance
Political support is crucial to increase wider acceptance by the public. Better information about the product such as the need for regular recalibrating of the alcohol ignition interlock is also required. So far two main groups are targeted:
Drink driving offenders in rehabilitation and training:alcohol interlocks are generally offered as an alternative to the disqualification for drivers who have been caught with an illegal BAC level. Subject to certain criteria, these drivers can choose to take part in a rehabilitation programme that can last from several months up to 2 years. During this period, regular monitoring is organised to control the evolution of the driver's drink driving behaviour under the condition of an alcohol interlock. Studies show a clear decrease in drink driving offences of these drivers while they use this device. Nevertheless they reveal high recidivism in the post-alcolock phase. Doug Beirness from Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) Canada insisted on the importance of rehabilitation programmes to ensure long-term results: "There are a lot of weak interlock programmes and we don't know yet what the best parameters are to ensure the most effective ones. This is one of the next challenges in this area."
Drink driving prevention for commercial drivers:Alcohol interlocks have also been introduced to private commercial transport, offering companies the opportunity to improve their image with the public as a result of improved quality assurance. The Swedish experience as presented by Bo Lönegren, advisor to the Swedish government on alcohol interlock issues, has shown that "companies that have introduced alcolocks don't need to charge more. They rather expect to gain a competitive advantage in a market that is more and more ruled by safety concerns. Also experience has shown that each company that has introduced alcohol interlock has been able to stop potential drink drivers from driving. School transport is now specifically requesting transport companies to prove that all drivers use alcolocks before transporting children."
Providing that political support and public acceptance increase, alcohol interlocks could be used in the long run by a majority of car drivers also for private use. The spill-over effect of positive experience in the commercial transport sector as well as increased European recognition will support the nearing of such an objective.
What measures are taken at the European level?
The European Commission can play a key role in prioritizing the numerous types of safety devices that can be fitted in a car "We have to work out a roadmap on the basis of cost-benefit estimates included in a study to be published this year. Then we can see when, which types of safety equipment, providing information to the driver or restrictive, should be introduced for whom" reminded Dimitrios Theologitis from European Commission's Directorate for Transport and Energy. Also "an intensified enforcement of legal BAC levels will lead to a higher demand for alcohol interlocks. Motor insurance schemes can also promote alcohol interlocks, as well as existing quality rating systems for truck companies". He concluded "It is not absurd to think that alcolocks will have a serious role to play one day in the future". Joël Valmain, also from DG Tren presented the activities supported by the EU that relate to this tool, including the research into rehabilitation programmes and invitation to the commercial transport sector to commit under the European Road Safety Charter to install alcolocks. "A better understanding of psychological, sociological, behavioural and practical impact on drivers whose vehicles are equipped with an alcolock will give further insight into further technological developments, reduction of cost and increase of public acceptance for alcohol interlocks."
Next stepsIn order to create wide public acceptance for alcohol interlocks the EU will have to work hand in hand with all stakeholders. On the one hand to effectively inform society about the actual possibilities offered by alcolocks and reduce any psychological barriers; on the other hand to ensure that car manufacturers will technically plan an easy way to install alcolocks in any car; lastly to eliminate any remaining technical weakness of such devices. This might lead to legislative initiatives to strengthen the effectiveness of pushing for a broader use of alcolocks. In any case EU action is expected and needed to act on the following fronts mainly: further stimulating research into the use of alcohol interlocks (including rehabilitation programmes); stimulating the exchange of best practice in private commercial transport; and setting EU standards for alcolocks.
ETSC warmly thanks all sponsors who, through their support, contribute to help ETSC fullfilling its objectives. Our thanks go particularly to Volvo Group which gave financial support for the ETSC lunch debates. Thanks to that help ETSC's first lunch was a great success. ETSC maintains its independence through funding from a variety of sources including membership subscriptions, European Commission grants, and public and private sector support for various activities.
