NSW MANDATORY ALCOHOL PROGRAM
OVERVIEW
Stricter requirements on NSW drivers convicted of serious and repeat drink driving offences will start on 1 February 2015. New laws will include a requirement for offenders to fit alcohol interlock devices to their vehicles.
From 1 February 2015, courts will be able to order offenders convicted of high range, repeat and other serious drink driving offences to complete:
A minimum licence disqualification period, and A minimum 12 month participation in the interlock program. Drink driving is a high risk problem.The new program is designed to provide a physical barrier between drinking and driving to reduce this road safety risk.
Transport for NSW Centre for Road Safety published statistics on their website showing Drink driving is a factor in about one in everyfive crashes in NSW where someone loses their life. Of the drink drivers who were killed in the five-year period from 2008 to 2012, 89 per cent were men and 66 per cent were under the age of 40.
The effects of alcohol are wide ranging and impossible to avoid. After a big night out you may still have alcohol in your system for much of the next day. Alcohol is a depressant and:
- Slows your brain so that you can’t respond to situations, make decisions or react quickly
- Reduces your ability to judge how fast you are moving or your distance from other cars, people or objects
- Gives you a false sense of confidence – you may take greater risks, thinking that your driving is better than it really is
- Makes it harder to do more than one thing at a time – while you concentrate on steering, you could miss seeing traffic lights, cars entering from side streets or pedestrians
- Affects your sense of balance – a big risk if you ride a motorcycle
- Makes you drowsy – you could fall asleep at the wheel.
DRINKING VIOLATIONS DETECTION
Program Violation Chart for Alcohol Interlocks NSW
| Type of Violation | Violation Limit | Violation Trigger Point |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Test violation | 6 | 0.020 – .049 BAC on attempted start |
| Initial Test violation | 3 | 0.050 or greater on attempted start |
| Rolling Re-Test Violation | 1 | 0.020 BAC or greater on rolling re-test |
| Skipped Rolling Retest | 1 | Failing to provide test within 5 minutes |
| Circumvention | 1 | Starting or by-passing device without taking a test |
| Battery Disconnection | 1 | Disconnecting the battery for 20 minutes or more |
| Combination | 6 | Combination of initial test violations to a total of 6 |
*Once violation limits have been reached the unit will display 7 day count down. You must return for an unscheduled service within the 7 day period or the device will permanently lock and you will require an unlock code. A maximum of 3 unlock codes can be issued per service period. The vehicle will need to be towed after that.
You will need to contact head office for issue of the unlock code.
Random RE-Test Schedule for Alcohol Interlocks NSW
- You will be required to provide a breath sample in the first 3 to 15 minutes of the vehicle starting
- you will be required to provide subsequent samples at random times ranging from 15 to 60 minutes after the first Re-test
- You are required to provide a breath sample every time the device requests a test, even if you have reached your destination and you turn the vehicle off.