Alcohol interlocks reduce risk of first time DUI offenders repeating the offence

People convicted of drunk driving are less likely to re-offend if they have to install alcohol interlocks on their vehicles, a study by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) found.

The study’s results provide support for requiring the devices to be used by all offenders, not just those with multiple arrests or high alcohol blood alcohol concentrations (BAC), an IIHS release says.

Researchers studied driver records in Washington for people with convictions related to alcohol-impaired driving. They found that after the state expanded its interlock requirements to everyone convicted of driving under the influence, the recidivism rate for people affected by the expansion fell 12%, the release continues.

“Only about a third of those offenders actually went through with interlock installations,” the IIHS added. “If all of them had, their recidivism rate would have fallen by nearly half, the researchers estimate.”