This book describes an effort to document alcohol ignition interlock programs in the United States in order to highlight those programs or program features that are believed to be best able to serve traffic safety interests. Information has been gathered into this book bearing on important interlock program features together with some recommendations for states to consider as programs are developed. The general topics in the body of this book include program enrolment issues; interlock program ramp-up and expansion; standardisation of reporting and information flow; program compliance, non-compliance and interlock removal; linkages to treatment; differences in court-based judicial programs and motor vehicle administered interlock programs; and suggested core elements of interlock programs. The authors believe that the single major difference among panellists interviewed centred on whether interlocks should play a role in the monitoring of court- ordered alcohol abstinence.
This book describes an effort to document alcohol ignition interlock programs in the United States in order to highlight those programs or program features that are believed to be best able to serve traffic safety interests. Information has been gathered into this book bearing on important interlock program features together with some recommendations for states to consider as programs are developed. The general topics in the body of this book include program enrollment issues; interlock program ramp-up and expansion; standardization of reporting and information flow; program compliance, noncompliance and interlock removal; linkages to treatment; differences in court-based judicial programs and motor vehicle administered interlock programs; and suggested core elements of interlock programs. The authors believe that the single major difference among panelists interviewed centered on whether interlocks should play a role in the monitoring of court- ordered alcohol abstinence
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 9780309468299
Category: Medical
Page: 606
View: 781
Alcohol-impaired driving is an important health and social issue as it remains a major risk to Americans' health today, surpassing deaths per year of certain cancers, HIV/AIDS, and drownings, among others, and contributing to long-term disabilities from head and spinal injuries. Progress has been made over the past decades towards reducing these trends, but that progress has been incremental and has stagnated more recently. Getting to Zero Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities examines which interventions (programs, systems, and policies) are most promising to prevent injuries and death from alcohol-impaired driving, the barriers to action and approaches to overcome them, and which interventions need to be changed or adopted. This report makes broad-reaching recommendations that will serve as a blueprint for the nation to accelerate the progress in reducing alcohol-impaired driving fatalities.
Alcohol, Drugs, and Impaired Driving addresses many theoretical and practical issues related to the role played by alcohol and other psychoactive drugs on driving performance, road-traffic safety, and public health. Several key forensic issues are involved in the enforcement of laws regulating driving under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, including analytical toxicology, pharmacology of drug action, as well as the relationships between dose taken, concentration levels in the body, and impairment of performance and behavior. Our knowledge of drunken driving is much more comprehensive than drugged driving, so a large part of this book is devoted to alcohol impairment, as well as impairment caused by use of drugs other than alcohol. For convenience, the book is divided into four main sections. The first section gives some historical background about measuring alcohol in blood and breath as evidence for the prosecution of traffic offenders. The important role of the Breathalyzer instrument in traffic-law enforcement, especially in Australia, Canada, and the USA is presented along with a biographical sketch of its inventor (Professor Robert F. Borkenstein of Indiana University) with focus on the man, his work and his impact. The second section discusses several issues related to forensic blood and breath-alcohol alcohol analysis as evidence for prosecution of traffic offenders. This includes how the results should be interpreted in relation to impairment and an evaluation of common defense challenges. Because most countries have adopted concentration per se laws, the main thrust of the prosecution case is the suspect’s measured blood- or breath-alcohol concentration. This legal framework necessitates that the analytical methods used are "fit for purpose" and are subjected to rigorous quality assurance procedures. The third section gives a broad overview of the current state of knowledge about driving under the influence of non-alcohol drugs in various countries. This includes adoption of zero-tolerance laws, concentration per se statutes, and clinical evidence of driver impairment based on field sobriety tests and drug recognition expert evidence. The fourth section deals with epidemiology, enforcement, and countermeasures aimed at reducing the threat of drunken and drugged driving. All articles have appeared previously in the international journal Forensic Science Review, but all are completely updated with current data, references, and the latest research on developments since the articles were published. This book contains a convenient collection of the best articles covering recommendations for blood and breath testing methods, public policy relating to such methods, and forensic and legal implications of the enforcement of measures to counter driving under the influence.
This project was initiated at the request of the Department of Motor Vehicles as a response to House Joint Resolution 378 (1989). The resolution requested an evaluation of research studies on ignition interlocks and a determination of possible benefits to the Commonwealth of Virginia from using this technology to control drunken driving. A survey of other states found that since the first law was enacted in California in 1986, another 15 states have passed some form of legislation dealing with the installation of ignition interlock devices. These laws primarily targetrecidivists, persons younger than 21, and offenders with a very high BAC. Sanctions are applied at the discretion of the court as a supplemental condition of probation or license restriction. These state statutes also deal with BAC threshold levels, tampering with the devices, insurance, and liability limits. A number of legal and economic issues that must be considered if Virginia initiates an ignition interlock program are discussed in the report. These issues include the authority of the state, equal access for indigents, tort liability, operational costs, administrative costs, and costs to defendants. Product information from manufacturers and the results of laboratory studies indicate that the devices currently on the market would fulfill the needs of an interlock program. The operational characteristics, reliability, and accuracy of these devices are sufficient for use by defendants convicted of drunken driving. Although a number of states have passed legislation and have established ignition interlock programs, very little is known about the actual operations of these programs because they have not been in existence very long. Some preliminary data suggests that the programs might have had a positive impact on safety, but no definitive result is currently available because a thorough evaluation has yet to be completed for even one program. It is recommended that Virginia delay legislative action.
This casebook profiles exceptional traumatic injury prevention programs from all over the globe. Its detailed description and analysis employ a multi-stage process of identifying, evaluating, and casing effective prevention practices. The case studies reflect how legislative and regulatory information impact prevention efforts and provide insight into how national centers for injury prevention and control inform prevention practices on countrywide levels. The authors work with outcome-based research criteria to select and develop their comprehensive and contextually aware profiles of the programs. All included case studies follow the BRIO approach (Background, Resources, Implementation, and Outcome) – a model designed to provide a consistent way of describing programs that have been evaluated and found to be exceptional practices. The scope of the Casebook ranges across: The challenge of traumatic injury prevention Sports and recreation-related traumatic injury prevention Fall-related traumatic injury prevention Road traffic-related traumatic injury prevention Traumatic injury prevention within complex systems In its recognition of traumatic injury prevention across the lifespan as a critical and complex public health challenge, the Casebook of Traumatic Injury Prevention promises to be an influential and authoritative resource for professionals and students in public health, safety, injury prevention, medicine, psychology, sociology, nursing, and engineering. Government agencies and institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), public health departments, and safety associations also would find the Casebook relevant to their work.
An automated alcohol ignition interlock program reporting system serves to automate routine tasks relating to the management of interlocked offenders. Jurisdictions can benefit from such an automated system, particularly if a potentially large number of offenders are expected to participate in the interlock program now or in the future. For example, a jurisdiction may consider developing an automated system if first offender legislation is passed and program participation numbers are expected to increase as was the case in Illinois. Failure to automate and continued reliance on paper-based reporting systems can lead to offenders slipping through gaps in the system or being overlooked as a result of lack of staff, weak communication channels, and untimely exchange of information between various agencies.
" Motor vehicle crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers killed 10,322 people in 2012 and account for almost one third of all traffic fatalities annually. Ignition interlocks are one strategy states use to combat DWI. In 2012, MAP-21 established a grant program for states that adopt and implement mandatory alcohol ignition-interlock laws for all convicted DWI offenders. Funding authorization for this program expires at the end of fiscal year 2014. GAO was asked to review the effectiveness of ignition interlocks and NHTSA's implementation of the new grant program. This report discusses (1) what is known about ignition interlock effectiveness and (2) the extent to which NHTSA has assisted states in implementing ignitioninterlock programs, including the grant program. GAO reviewed 25 studies that analyzed relationships between ignition interlocks and DWI arrests and fatalities; interviewed NHTSA officials and reviewed reports about NHTSA's assistance to states; and interviewed representatives from safety-advocacy and research organizations, and officials involved with ignition-interlock programs from 10 states. The states were selected based on grant program qualification and the number of alcohol-impaired fatalities, among other factors. The information from these states is not generalizable. DOT officials reviewed a draft of this report and generally agreed with the findings. DOT offered technical corrections"
Drugs, Driving and Traffic Safety gives a comprehensive overview of the effects of different medical conditions like neurological disorders, anxiety and depression and their pharmaceutical treatment on driving ability. In addition, the effects of alcohol and drugs of abuse are discussed. Leading experts present the different methodologies to examine effects of drugs on driving, and summarize the recent scientific evidence including epidemiological studies, roadside surveys, laboratory tests, driving simulators, and the standardized driving test. The volume includes guidelines of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) and the ICADTS Drugs List 2007. Drugs, Driving and Traffic Safety is written for physicians, psychiatrists and pharmacists who want to inform their patients who use psychoactive drugs.
