Across the United States, the work to reduce drunk driving crashes continues; however, the rate of drunk driving crash fatalities has not decreased substantially in approximately 10 years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 2006, intense efforts by law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, public health, safety programs, and drunk driving prevention organizations resulted in less than one percent decrease in drunk driving crash deaths nationally.

In the face of these daunting statistics, in 2006, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) initiated a Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. According to MADD Executive Director Chuck Hurley, “Our goals of reducing drunk driving substantially in the short term and eliminating drunk driving in the long term are both ambitious and achievable. Through increased high-visibility enforcement, current technology such as alcohol ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers, advanced vehicle technologies, and public support, these goals can come to fulfillment and lives can be saved.”

One aspect of DWI offender treatment now under evaluation is the nature of first-time DWI offenders. MADD believes that it is time for courts to take a tougher stand with DWI first offenders. In fact, based on research, the organization believes that changing the way the criminal justice system treats first-time offenders will help courts intervene more effectively in potentially deadly, life long patterns of drunk driving that often ends in crashes.

Requiring first-time offenders to install an alcohol ignition interlock in vehicles they drive is a key component of innovative sentences in some jurisdictions and a sentencing outcome that MADD court monitors routinely look for. Some may see installation of an ignition interlock as a punitive action by the courts or a licensing agency. However, as noted above, many drunk drivers have a diagnosis of an alcohol use problem, usually one of dependence. Hence, it is not unusual to find that many clinicians view the interlock as an adjunctive therapeutic device that assist drunk drivers who are in recovery to maintain a sober life style.

And then there’s the public safety aspect of ignition interlock use. In New Mexico, officials announced in November of 2007 that ignition interlock devices prevented approximately 63,000 trips by DWI offenders who registered positive for alcohol.

Multiple studies on interlock for first-time and repeat offenders show decrease in repeat offenses up to 90% while the interlock is on the vehicle. MADD advocates for a shorter license restriction period for all convicted drunk drivers and a longer ignition interlock period. The goal of this approach is to encourage offenders to prove they can drive sober for a period of time and not endanger others on the roadways.

America faces a great challenge in the effort to reduce drunk driving crashes and prevent the death of 13,000 people annually. MADD hopes its Court Monitoring Program will serve as a positive force in this effort.

Editor’s Note: Angela Downes, J.D. is the MADD National Manager of Court Monitoring. She is a former prosecutor for the District Attorney’s Office in Dallas, Texas. Janet Dewey-Kollen is a long-time traffic safety advocate having worked on occupant protection and impaired driving issues at local, state, and national levels. Please note this is an excerpted version of the full article. For more information on the full article, please go to www.madd.org/countermonitoring.

It should be noted that the Michigan Legislature has before it a package of bills that would toughen penalties for drunken drivers caught with a “high blood-alcohol content.” The bills promote the use of ignition interlock technology and the bills would identify a high BAC offender as someone with a BAC of .15 or above. Approximately 40 states already have stronger penalties for high BAC offenders and 45 states already use interlock devices in sentencing drunk drivers. MADD supports the bills HB 4920, 4921, and 4289 and they have passed the State House by a strong margin and await consideration by the Senate. Another bill, SB 1134, would use interlock devices for all offenders at the BAC level of .08. The bills are available for review at www.michiganlegislature.org.