Ignition Interlock proposal untrusty
Candor Trust Media Release
 
Government acquiescence to requests by Badd, The Crossroads campaign and Candor Trust for an ignition interlock program to br considered are a likely pre election carrot that is intended to fade like a mirage on the desert road, say Candor.
 
The main focuses of the three yearly conference of the International Council for Alcohol Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) in Seattle late last year were drug driving and interlocks. But these are first world cutting edge interventions.
 
Sadly for Kiwis the Labour Government has long deprioritised road safety in New Zealand which has seen our progress in reducing the total social costs of injury and fatal crashes near the bottom of the OECD. 
 
Ever worsening carnage has seen total social costs go from close to 3 billion yearly, around 5 years ago to 4 billion. This is double the bloodshed seen in the better performing countries in the year 2000.
 
The interlock scheme if Labour is incoming is likely to meet the same fate as the drug driving legislation - which has been left to moulder in select committee for a year while over 100 people have been unnecessarily killed.
 
The local blockage to evidence based policy is the resource allocation model experiment being run by Ministry of Transport at the apparent behest of the World Banks Transport Division.
 
Official papers acquired by the Candor Trust show that the experiment variables may not be altered, and that other issues must be actively "suppressed". The experiment variables are target offence numbers for drink driving, speed, seatbelt and intersection infringements.
 
The targeted drink drive offence numbers for processing by Police are already set by Government Economists to rise by a phenomenal amount by 2010. Introduction of ignition interlocks would seriously disrupt the projections and anticipated fines revenues, given that  a third of those caught at chequebook points are recidivists.

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