| Related Articles |
Impact of State Ignition Interlock Laws on Alcohol-Involved Crash Deaths in the United States.
Am J Public Health. 2016 Mar 17;:e1-e7
Authors: Kaufman EJ, Wiebe DJ
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact on alcohol-involved crash deaths of universal ignition interlock requirements, which aim to prevent people convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol from driving while intoxicated.
METHODS: We used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 1999 to 2013. From 2004 to 2013, 18 states made interlocks mandatory for all drunk-driving convictions. We compared alcohol-involved crash deaths between 18 states with and 32 states without universal interlock requirements, accounting for state and year effects, and for clustering within states.
RESULTS: Policy impact was apparent 3 years after implementation. The adjusted rate of alcohol-involved crash deaths was 4.7 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.0, 5.4) per 100 000 in states with the universal interlock requirement, compared with 5.5 (95% CI = 5.48, 5.53) in states without, an absolute reduction of 0.8 (95% CI = 0.1, 1.5) deaths per 100 000 per year.
CONCLUSIONS: Requiring ignition interlocks for all drunk-driving convictions was associated with 15% fewer alcohol-involved crash deaths, compared with states with less-stringent requirements. Interlocks are a life-saving technology that merit wider use. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print March 17, 2016: e1-e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303058).
PMID: 26985604 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]