Required alcohol lock in car after drunk driving
From 1st December, Dutch drivers who are tested with more than 1.3 per mille alcohol in their blood will receive an alcohol lock in their cars.
Minister Melanie Schultz van Heagen (VVD, transport) reported to the second chamber on Wednesday.
Now a driver who is tested with more than 1.3 per mille in his blood has to follow a mandatory course. The driving license will also be temporary taken away from the driver. Alcohol in the blood could be due to various reasons, but an average Dutch would take about 8 to 10 glasses of drinks with alcohol to reach 1.3per mille.
The government service for road transport RWD will start testing such alcohol lock, according to Schultz van Haegen. After a test period with the ICT, the lock will be built to drivers from December.
The alcohol lock is an additional punishment that the court imposes on a drunk driver. Those who refuse to have the device built in the cars will lose their license for five years.
The Foundation for Road Safety Research estimates that the measure will reduce the death rate of road accidents by 5 to 6 and the number of injuries by 50 to 60.
How does an alcohol lock work?
An alcohol lock is a device that is connected with a breath alcohol test. The device is built into a car and blocks the starting circuit. It will not be released until a valid breath test with the right result is done. The breath alcohol concentration must be under the set limit, which is 0.2 per mille.
Can you circumvent the alcohol test?
The alcohol lock makes fraud almost impossible. For example, the breath is also checked for moisture and heat. Blowing with a ballon, a pump or a filter is not going to succeed.
Because the device will require another test again during the driving, it is also difficult for someone else to do it instead of the driver.
Is the test safe during driving?
The SWOV (Social Road Safety Research) has examined the device and states that it is as safe as operating the radio while driving. Furthermore, the test could be notified in advance by an optical and acoustic signal. The driver could also postpone the test if the traffic situation does not allow.
Is the measurement too strict?
If you eat something with alcohol in it before the measurement, the alcohol percentage could be tested as too high. Waiting for ten minutes before the test would help.
What happens if the BAC is too high?
The alcohol lock will ask for a new breath test a few minutes later. If it fails again, the waiting period will be longer. Ultimately, the waiting time for a new test will be up to one hour.
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