Interlock Systems

Research presented by Beck, Rauch, baker and Williams (1999) present that the

purpose of an ignition interlock license restriction program is to reduce recidivism

in groups of individual who have committed an alcohol traffic violations. An

interlock device prevents an intoxicated individual from starting a motor

vehicle. Paul R. Marques et al. (1998) states further that The new NHTSA

guidelines attempted to differ the preoccupation with accuracy and advocated to

key features: a rolling retest and a data recorder. The rolling retest requires

operators to retest periodically is or her BAC while the vehicle was running. This

feature was included to circumvention such as getting someone else to blow into

the interlock, allowing the vehicle to sit idling for long periods to avoid having to

restart and retest or using stored air sample to blow into the sampling head of the

interlock. Studies by Roth (2007) show that missing a rolling retest not to be a

significant predictor of recidivism. The studies conclude the significant indicator

was the initial BAC when the individual attempted to start the vehicle. “All

variables (gender, age, and BAC>0.16), except test refusal (interpreted in the

study as a missing a rolling retest) were significantly related to recidivism.” ( Roth

page 348)

Paul Marqus, Tippetts, and Voas (2002) in one of the few studies not supported

by MADD states that,

Two of the key touchstones of science are demonstrating an ability to (1) predict

and (2) control human behavior, with out unreasonable restrictions on civil

liberties, remains among the more difficult challenges for any scientific or

technologically based contribution to social order. Evidence suggests interlock

technology is an innovation that succeeds reasonable well in the control of

human behavior when the devices are managed by competent monitoring

programs.