Alcohol-impaired driving takes an enormous toll in the United
States, killing approximately one person every 40 minutes. Despite
continued efforts by enforcement, the judiciary, advocates and governmental
agencies, nearly 13,000 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving
crashes in 2007 (NHTSA 2008a). This number has remained remarkably
stable for almost two decades after alcohol-involved fatalities declined
significantly in the 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s.
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Many drivers involved in fatal alcohol-impaired-driving crashes
have been arrested previously for driving while intoxicated (DWI).
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In 2007, drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of
0.08 gram per deciliter or higher in fatal crashes were eight times
more likely to have a prior conviction for driving while impaired
than were drivers with no alcohol (NHTSA 2008a).
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The prevention of impaired driving is critical to reducing alcohol-impaired-driving
deaths and injuries. More than 14,600,000 drivers were arrested in
the United States in 2006 for driving under the influence of alcohol
or narcotics. This number represents an arrest rate of one DWI arrest
for every 139 licensed drivers in the United States (NHTSA 2008b).
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Technology presents exciting possibilities in the area of impaired-driving
prevention. One promising strategy is the breath alcohol ignition
interlock device (BAIID). A BAIID, or more simply an ignition interlock,
is an after-market technology device installed in a motor vehicle
to prevent a driver from operating the vehicle if the driver has been
drinking. Before starting the vehicle, a driver must breathe into
the device and if the driver's BAC is over a preset limit, the ignition
interlock will not allow the vehicle to start.
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Research shows that ignition interlocks reduce recidivism among
both first-time and repeat DWI offenders, with reductions in subsequent
DWI arrests ranging from 50% to 90% while the interlock is installed
on the vehicle (Voas and Marques, 2003; Willis et al, 2005; Vezina,
2002; Tippetts and Voas, 1997; Coben and Larkin, 1999).
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Ignition Interlocks — What You Need to Know, p. 1
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