Citation

McGinty EE, Tung G, Shulman-Laniel J, Hardy R, Rutkow L, Frattaroli S, Vernick JS. Am. J. Prev. Med. 2016; 52(4): 417-423.

Affiliation

Center for Injury Research and Policy, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.amepre.2016.10.043

PMID

28065516

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Alcohol-involved motor vehicle crashes are a major cause of preventable mortality in the U.S., leading to more than 10,000 fatalities in 2013. Ignition interlocks, or alcohol-sensing devices connected to a vehicle's ignition to prevent it from starting if a driver has a predetermined blood alcohol content (BAC) level, are a promising avenue for preventing alcohol-involved driving. This study sought to assess the effects of laws requiring ignition interlocks for some or all drunk driving offenders on alcohol-involved fatal crashes.

METHODS: A multilevel modeling approach assessed the effects of state interlock laws on alcohol-involved fatal crashes in the U.S. from 1982 to 2013. Monthly data on alcohol-involved crashes in each of the 50 states was collected in 2014 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Random-intercept models accounted for between-state variation in alcohol-involved fatal crash rates and autocorrelation of within-state crash rates over time. Analysis was conducted in 2015.

RESULTS: State laws requiring interlocks for all drunk driving offenders were associated with a 7% decrease in the rate of BAC >0.08 fatal crashes and an 8% decrease in the rate of BAC ≥0.15 fatal crashes, translating into an estimated 1,250 prevented BAC >0.08 fatal crashes. Laws requiring interlocks for segments of high-risk drunk driving offenders, such as repeat offenders, may reduce alcohol-involved fatal crashes after 2 years of implementation.

CONCLUSIONS: Ignition interlock laws reduce alcohol-involved fatal crashes. Increasing the spread of interlock laws that are mandatory for all offenders would have significant public health benefit.

Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

Language: en