 Anything you can do to reduce risk and increase safety is worth the investment. With an alcohol interlock from ACS, you can demonstrate your company’s committment to both driver and public safety
According to the Department for Transport in the UK, in 2008 there were 379 fatalities involving heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and 98 involving buses or coaches. Such commercial vehicles typically have a lower overall crash rate compared to the crash rate of personal vehicles. Nevertheless, because of their much larger mass compared to personal vehicles, HGVs, buses and coaches are more likely involved in fatal crashes and often the occupants of smaller vehicles involved in the crash, notably personal cars, suffer the most severe consequences. To illustrate, the Department for Transport estimates that HVGs were involved in 1.3 fatal crashes and buses/coaches in 1.9 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle-miles travelled, respectively, compared to 0.7 for cars in 2008.
Prudent approach
Clear information about the role of alcohol in crashes with commercial vehicles in the UK is not available. What we do know is that the incidence of drink driving among drivers of commercial vehicles is generally much lower than the incidence of drinking driving among drivers of personal vehicles. According to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) less than 0.5 per cent of HGV and bus drivers drive with an illegal blood alcohol concentration in Europe (see ETSC’s report on drinking driving in commercial transport at www.etsc.eu). Still, given the potentially devastating consequences of crashes with HGVs, buses and coaches it can be argued that a more prudent approach in terms of preventing crashes due to alcohol impaired driving should beconsidered. One such approach is to use alcohol interlocks.
An alcohol interlock is an in-vehicle technology that prevents a driver from starting the vehicle before delivering an acceptable breath sample with an alcohol concentration below a preset safety level. If the driver fails the test, meaning the breath sample indicates the driver has consumed an amount of alcohol over the pre-set level, it will not be possible to start the vehicle. These devices have been extensively tested with offenders who were caught for drinking driving and have been found to reduce recidivism considerably. The recidivism rate among convicted drivers with an alcohol interlock was found to be 50-90 per cent lower compared to convicted drivers without an alcohol interlock during the time of installation (see www.aic.tirf.ca for an overview).
Preventative measure
More recently this technology is being used in commercial vehicles, not so much to punish drivers who were caught for drinking driving, but rather as a preventative measure. Examples include taxi fleets, transport companies and government vehicles in Sweden as well as school buses in France. In essence, all company vehicles and school buses are fitted with an alcohol interlock and drivers are required to successfully pass breath tests while operating these vehicles within the scope of their duties. Research conducted during a European pilot project has shown that there is a great deal of support among drivers of commercial vehicles to use these devices. More research results will likely become available as commercial applications of alcohol interlocks become more widespread. In the UK a pilot project to prepare for the implementation of an alcohol interlock program for offenders was conducted in 2004 through 2006. Despite some concerns, this pilot revealed that both offenders and their families were favourable to the use of this technology to help separate their drinking from driving. Legislation for an alcohol interlock program for offenders in the UK is currently underway. Furthermore, according to ETSC some insurance companies have expressed their support for legislation that would make it mandatory for drink driving offenders to use an alcohol interlock while driving. Finally, some have suggested that the UK’s Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, passed in 2007, may encourage employers to use alcohol interlocks in their vehicle fleet, “given that companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care” (see www.hse.gov.uk). It remains to be seen whether and how this act will impact the use of alcohol interlocks in vehicle fleets. In the interim, alcohol interlocks can be considered as one tool that can be used to help reduce alcohol related crashes.
For more information
To learn how to equip your fleet with alcohol interlocks, visit www.acs-corp.com
More information about ignition interlocks and the science supporting them can be found at www.aicp.tirf.ca |
