One dollar should be better than three penalty units: a trial of a public breath tester program with supporting promotional material

The Victoria Police reports that many drink drivers are being detected just over the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) since drink driving provisions were tightened recently in Victoria. It is possible that some of these drink drivers do not intend to drive illegally and that they do so inadvertently because they were unable to assess their BAC accurately. The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has commenced a trial of coin-operated breath testers to determine if it is possible to implement a sustainable program that combines inexpensive access to breath testers that meet Australian Standards and in-venue promotion to patrons who plan to drive after consuming alcohol to increase awareness and use of the breath testers. The trial commenced in 2006. It involves the installation of breath testers that cost $1 per test in around 50 licensed venues in the eastern and outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne and a staged implementation of supporting promotional materials. Data are being collected from patrons and from the breath testers to assess the level of promotional support required to generate high levels of use. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E214930.