Citation

Rauch WJ, Berlin MM, Ahlin EM, Berlin PA. Proc. Int. Counc. Alcohol Drugs Traffic Safety Conf. 2002; 2002: 131-137.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, The author(s) and the Council, Publisher International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Efforts at reducing the consequences of drinking and driving have met with some success over the last two decades. However, alcohol-impaired driving continues to be a major public health problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set an annual goal of no more than 11,000 alcohol-related traffic fatalities by the year 2005. Over the past 7 years, the proportion of traffic fatalities involving alcohol has minimally declined (Table 1). In 2000, 40% (N = 16,653) of all traffic fatalities were alcohol related (1). It is clear that NHTSA will not meet its goal without additional countermeasures. Ignition interlocks are a technological countermeasure to alcohol-impaired driving and ignition interlock license restriction programs appear promising as a deterrent to alcohol-impaired driving. However, not all states have laws or administrative regulations allowing interlock use, and widespread utilization of interlocks has not materialized. The current research investigates potential legal barriers to effective ignition interlock implementation in the United States.(A)