Citation

Kaufman EJ, Wiebe DJ. Am. J. Public Health 2016; 106(5): 865-871.

Affiliation

Elinore J. Kaufman is a student with the Health Policy Program at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and a resident in the Department of Surgery at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY. Douglas J. Wiebe is with the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2016.303058

PMID

26985604

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact on alcohol-involved crash deaths of universal ignition interlock requirements, which aim to prevent people convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol from driving while intoxicated.

METHODS: We used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 1999 to 2013. From 2004 to 2013, 18 states made interlocks mandatory for all drunk-driving convictions. We compared alcohol-involved crash deaths between 18 states with and 32 states without universal interlock requirements, accounting for state and year effects, and for clustering within states.

RESULTS: Policy impact was apparent 3 years after implementation. The adjusted rate of alcohol-involved crash deaths was 4.7 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.0, 5.4) per 100 000 in states with the universal interlock requirement, compared with 5.5 (95% CI = 5.48, 5.53) in states without, an absolute reduction of 0.8 (95% CI = 0.1, 1.5) deaths per 100 000 per year.

CONCLUSIONS: Requiring ignition interlocks for all drunk-driving convictions was associated with 15% fewer alcohol-involved crash deaths, compared with states with less-stringent requirements. Interlocks are a life-saving technology that merit wider use. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print March 17, 2016: e1-e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303058).

Language: en