The Western Cape Government has suggested introducing alcohol-detecting ignition interlocks as a means to prevent drunk drivers from hitting the road.
The Western Cape Government has published its Alcohol Harms Reduction Green Paper, which is aimed at minimising alcohol consumption. As one of the points listed within the paper, government suggests that the installation of alcohol-detecting ignition interlocks could help deter drunk driving and hence incidents on the road.
What is an alcohol-detecting ignition interlock? Put simply, it’s a device which functions as any breathalyzer would and detects alcohol content on one’s breath. The added exception is that the device is connected to a car’s ignition, and would require a driver to use the system and verify that they have not exceeded the legal drinking limit before starting their vehicle.
Read: New public Wi-Fi hotspots for the Western Cape go live
The system isn’t perfect; a breathalyzer falls far short of a blood test in the sense that it can only estimate alcohol content on one’s breath, and further the system could be passed to a passenger who could be below the limit, enabling a driver to start the vehicle.
That being said, it is a meritorious – if complicated – suggestion to curb road deaths caused by alcohol use. The paper suggests that drivers determined to pose a “high risk” to the safety of others would be required to have the system installed in their vehicles. As the report cites:
“It is proposed that the Magistrates‘ Forum and the NPA be encouraged to consider the introduction of alcohol interlocks as potential measures to be used both in diversion programmes and as part of sentencing in convictions of driving under the influence or with a breath or blood alcohol level higher than the legally permissible level. At a minimum, it is suggested that an alcohol interlock should be mandatory in cases where the NPA opts to permit a diversion arrangement, or a magistrate or judge delivers a sentence that does not include a licence suspension because of consideration for the offender‘s work circumstances.”
Other suggestions in the report offer that a zero-tolerance framework be issued for young or novice drivers wherein no driver – within three years of getting their first license – would be allowed to consume any alcohol and drive. In technical terms, that would equate to a drink-and-drive limit set between 0,00g and 0,02g per 100ml of blood.
Other suggestions include improved random breath testing patrols, an alcohol limit on pedestrians, and a stricter alcohol limit.
Read: The City of Cape Town unveils three new free Wi-Fi zones
What are your thoughts on the Western Cape Government’s suggestions? How could technology help to curve the number of fatalities caused by motorists driving over the alcohol limit? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
