Policies created to prevent drunk driving have mainly been focused on the repercussions, but a new study suggests that installing in-car breathalyzers has the potential to work even better.
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania looked at drunk driving death rates taken from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They compared the rates in states with laws that require people who have been caught driving under the influence (DUI) to use a breathalyzer before starting their cars to the rates recorded in states that did not have this ignition interlock law. Overall, 18 states had enforced an ignition interlock law for DUI offenders between 2004 and 2013.
The team, headed by Elinore K. Kaufman, MD, a student in Penn's Health Policy master's degree program, found that the death rates from drunk driving in states with interlock laws was 4.7 deaths per 100,000 cases, which was 0.8 per 100,000 cases, fewer than the rate calculated in states without interlock laws. In terms of percentages, states with these laws in place saw a 15 percent decline in drunk driving deaths when compared to states that have not passed these laws. Overall, from 2007 to 2013, interlock laws helped save an estimated 915 lives.
"Our findings show that by preventing intoxicated drivers from starting their vehicles, these ignition interlock laws can directly prevent drunk driving and save lives," Kaufman said. "We are encouraged by growing public and governmental support for expansion of interlock programs and innovative ways to use this technology to prevent more lives lost resulting from drunk driving."
"We're encouraged by the increasing number of states enacting mandatory interlock laws since 2013 and hope these findings advance public health conversations aimed at saving more lives," said Douglas J. Wiebe, an associate professor of epidemiology in the department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and senior author of the study.
Based on these findings, the researchers hope that Pennsylvania, as well as other states, considers passing interlock laws. The researchers also stressed the importance of coming up with new prevention measures on top of current laws and policies to further reduce drunk driving death rates.
The study was published in the march 17 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
