The Belgian alcohol interlock programme for offenders

In June 2009 the possibility for judges to restrict the licence of a driver convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol to vehicles equipped with an interlock was added to the Belgian traffic law. Besides international research demonstrating interlock programmes' relative effectiveness, the positive results of a national field trial in the framework of a European pilot project contributed to this political decision. The legal requirements regarding devices, service providers, monitoring agencies and licensing regulations were only available in November 2010. lt took until October 2012 to obtain the approval of all elements necessary to implement the programme. At the present date (April 2013) only about 10 to 15 offenders (complete data are lacking) were convicted to an interlock, but no devices have been installed yet. The objective of the paper is to discuss the challenges that occurred in the different phases of the implementation process and to analyze the barriers that impede a larger scale application of interlocks in Belgium. Quality assurance issues seem the main factor delaying the approval process, but uncertainty about the expected number of participants also contributed. Based upon a comparison of the Belgian programme with other programmes, several programme features that hinder larger participant volumes could be identified. The possible role of high programme costs compared to traditional sanctions, the discretionary legal framework and unfamiliarity with the programme effectiveness will be discussed as well as possible actions to tackle these factors. (A)