Drink drivers’ views of a voluntary alcohol interlock programme for drink driving offenders in Sweden

Abstract

A permanent alcohol interlock programme was introduced in Sweden in 2012. The programme is voluntary and allows drink driving offenders to keep their driving licenses if they install alcohol interlocks in their vehicles. The duration of the programme is one or two years, depending on the severity of the drink driving offence. This study aims to improve our knowledge of drink drivers’ views of the programme, among both participants and those who chose not to participate. These views were collected through paper questionnaires mailed to the drink drivers’ residences. Of 1550 questionnaires mailed to participants and 1492 to non-participants, 689 and 408 were completed, for response rates of 45% among participants and 28% among non-participants (excluding returns because of incorrect addresses or because the respondent was deceased). For participants who were employed or had their own business (n = 513), the main reasons for choosing the alcohol interlock were the need to operate a vehicle at work (69.6%, 95% CI: 65.6–73.6%) and to get to/from work (69.4%, 95% CI: 65.4–73.4%). For those not working (n = 153), the main reasons for participating were that the driving license was required to have a social life and meaningful leisure time (79.7%, 95% CI: 73.3–86.2%) and for shopping (65.4%, 95% CI: 57.7–73.0%). For non-participants, the main reasons for not applying were programme costs (64.4%, 95% CI: 59.5–69.3%), being afraid of being considered alcoholics (37.1%, 95% CI: 32.2–42.1%), and doing well without a license (26.5%, 95% CI: 22.0–31.0%). The results also indicate improved health after the drink driving offence. The largest improvement was found in participants in the two-year programme, in which the proportion of respondents who felt good or very good increased by 39.4% (95% CI: 34.2–44.5%) compared to before the drink driving offence.