John Unsworth: Interlocks should be used more

PROTECTION: The alcohol interlock, an in-car breathalyser.

GOVERNMENT must increase the use of alcohol interlocks to protect innocent road users from drunk drivers.

Despite 900 drunk drivers being caught in Whanganui in 2013 and 2014, not one of them was sentenced to an interlock.

An interlock is essentially an in-car breathalyser. The driver blows into the device, and, if alcohol is detected, the vehicle will not start. The interlock then records a fail against the driver.

Introducing them was an initiative of the NZ Transport Agency's "Safer Journeys" road safety strategy aimed at reducing the impact of drink driving on NZ roads.

The courts decide if an alcohol interlock sentence is appropriate and such a sentence usually applies to people who have been convicted of repeat drink driving offences or of an excessively high blood/breath alcohol level. But the revelation last month that no drink drivers have been sentenced to an alcohol interlock should disappoint everyone on our roads in Whanganui.

In 2013 and 2014 the police caught a total of more than 900 drink drivers in Whanganui yet not one of them was sentenced to an interlock. This is despite research showing that interlocks are 35-90 per cent more successful than other sanctions at reducing drink driving.

Drink driving remains a serious problem on our roads. During the last 10 years, crashes caused by drink driving have killed around 1100 people and seriously injured another 5300. This is around 30 per cent of total fatal road crashes.

Every year police catch around 20,000 drink drivers above the criminal limit and half of these offenders have been caught before. This shows that traditional penalties such as loss of licence and fines are often not deterring drink drivers from re-offending.

Based on that data, the AA wants interlocks to be mandatory for all repeat drink drivers and first-time offenders double or more the legal limit.

The 270 installed interlocks already in use had already recorded around 2400 failed attempts by drivers to start their vehicles after they had been drinking.

Some would argue that a sober person can simply blow into the interlock device on behalf of the drunk driver. However, interlocks continue to evolve to minimise cheating.

For example, the breathing technique to start a vehicle requires training and practice, retesting is required at regular intervals throughout the journey, and cameras are increasingly being installed alongside the interlock to verify the driver. It is important to remember that the current penalties given to drink drivers have no checks in place. A driver may have been disqualified, but there's nothing physically stopping them from using their car if they have been drinking.

That's why we're calling on the Government to urgently expand the use of interlocks to help protect New Zealanders from the horrific consequences that drunk drivers cause.