How far would you go?

The holiday season brings all sorts of joy for most of us, but all sorts of pain for a few.  So, how far would you be prepared to go in the battle against carnage on the roads? As far as a compulsory alcometer in your car?

It's the latest suggestion thrown up by road safety research, which says between 97 and 388 fatalities could be prevented on Australia roads each year if every car was fitted with an interlock to prevent drunk drivers getting on the road.

The research was done by the best brains in the country, at the Accident Research Centre at Monash University, and they say between six and 24 per cent of all road fatalities could be prevented by compulsory alcolocks.

“Our research definitely shows that installing these devices in all registered vehicles could be an effective way of saving lives on our roads. Each summer holiday season we are confronted with grim road toll statistics, but this study shows that more can be done to bring the number of needless deaths and injuries down,” says Dr Julie Lahausse of MUARC.

“There are around 1500 road fatalities in Australia every year, and it has been estimated that 25 per cent of these accidents are alcohol-related. So it appears that other strategies, such as fines and licence disqualifications, are not doing enough on their own.”  She says the annual cost of alcohol-related carnage on the road is around $1.5 billion, a figure that could be slashed by 24 to 95 per cent.

Legislation regarding alcolocks varies between states, but they are typically only installed in the vehicles of repeat drink-driving offenders.
In Victoria, a range of alcolock measures were introduced in 2006, including mandatory installation of the devices for first-time drink driving offenders with blood alcohol concentration levels of 0.07 or higher, if aged under 26 or a probationary licence holder.

So, how do you feel? Let us know in the comment box below.

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