Rehabilitation of drunk drivers and the SMADIT project: collaboration between the police force, the road administration and the social services

The aim of the SMADIT project is to reduce the number of drunk drivers on the Swedish roads and reduce the number of repeated drunk driving offences. According to the guidelines the police should inform the suspected drunk drivers about SMADIT and ask if they want to be contacted by the Social Services. The purpose of this paper is to present the results from a qualitative study evaluating the effects of the SMADIT. Thirteen male drivers and one female driver who agreed to take part in the SMADIT project were interviewed. The questions covered their experience of SMADIT but also the circumstances behind their drinking and driving. The results showed that the initial contact with the police determined if they would agree to participate in the project or not. An important aim with SMADIT project is the early contact with the Social Service but the results from this study showed that several of the informants needed time for reflection and to recover from the shock after being stopped by the police on suspicion of drunk driving. However, according to informants it was important that not too many days passed before a contact was established. During the meeting with the Social Service the informants were offered different kinds of treatment. All of the informants were very pleased with this contact. According to the guidelines provided by the SMADIT project a consensus has to be reached otherwise the Social Services cannot contact the person. In this study we found that a person straight after the event does not always think clearly and we therefore propose that the SMADIT project is extended to also include those who initially reject the offer.