BARRY SWEEDLER AWARD PRESENTED AT INTERNATIONAL INTERLOCK SYMPOSIUM

This year's Barry Sweedler award was presented at the International Interlock Symposium in Palm Springs, California, in September to Gerald Waters from New Zealand. Mr. Waters, a road safety advocate, lost a friend in 2010 to a repeat drunk driver. Afterwards, he wrote to New Zealand’s Justice Minister asking for a review of the justice system’s handling of drunk-driving offenders. Later that year, Mr. Waters appeared before a parliamentary select committee and spoke of the need to do more to address recidivist drunk drivers and the impaired-driving problem in New Zealand. Mr. Waters provided a voice for victims, both living and deceased, and was featured in the media for his participation in the committee hearings and his commentary on the trial of the repeat drunk driver who had killed his friend.

Although not an academic by trade, after learning more about alcohol and drug-impaired driving and consulting with recognized experts and professionals around the world, he wrote a paper in 2011, titled “The Case of Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts in New Zealand,” highlighting the connection between drugs and alcohol and a majority of the crime in New Zealand. He further emphasized the value of alcohol interlocks as part of the solution, and the need for collaboration between New Zealand political parties on initiatives to address the problem. He also advocated for greater public education on the issue and ways that the public can be part of the solution.

It is Mr. Waters’ unwavering drive for knowledge on and understanding of the issue of impaired driving, promotion of evidence-based solutions, such as alcohol interlocks, and his pursuit of change in the justice system in dealing with these offenders that has earned him this year’s Barry Sweedler Award. In a relatively short time, Mr. Waters has changed the way many people in New Zealand view the impaired-driving problem.

The Barry Sweedler award was created in honor of Barry Sweedler’s influential career in road safety, which spanned more than three decades. Barry served as the President of ICADTS. Following his long and distinguished service at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, he became a founding partner of Safety and Policy Analysis International. Barry was also a strong supporter of solutions to prevent and reduce alcohol-impaired driving, including alcohol ignition interlocks. He was an active attendee at the Annual International Alcohol Interlock Symposia series, and supportive of new attendees, new ideas, and perspectives to advance the field. In honor of Barry’s contributions to improve traffic safety, the Barry Sweedler Award is conferred upon one individual each year. Nominees of this award have shown leadership in the drunk-driving field through their work to support, promote, strengthen, expand, and/or advance the use and delivery of alcohol interlocks. They have also encouraged cooperation across agencies and built partnerships to raise awareness about the effectiveness of these devices and best practice program features.

- Excerpt from the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs & Traffic Safety (ICADST) Reporter Newsletter, Volume 22, Number 4, Fall 2011.

Friend's Death Leads to Road Safety Award

When Gerald Waters lost a good friend to a car crash caused by a recidivist drink-driver last year, he vowed to change the system so others would not have to go through such a loss. But he never imagined ... More

[Article from nzherald.co.nz]

The 12th International Alcohol Interlock Symposium is now concluded. This event was our largest yet and involved more than 175 attendees representing 18 countries. We have come a very long way from our first meeting in Montreal in 2000 which involved just 26 attendees.

The theme of this year’s symposium was “Integrating Systems: Creating a Continuum of Care”. The theme clearly reflected the strong trend that exists among jurisdictions who are increasingly seeking to incorporate elements of licensing, criminal justice and treatment systems into existing interlock programs. This strategy will ultimately serve to better manage offender risk and resource allocations to maximize opportunities to reduce impaired driving.

The agenda featured a broad range of speakers who shared their perspectives on new interlock research and new impaired driver research as well as the use of treatment strategies, and court involvement in managing higher-risk offenders. We also heard from jurisdictions that have made great strides in improving the delivery of interlock programs, strengthening data collection strategies, and establishing reciprocal arrangements to track offenders as they travel.

International representatives spoke about efforts to enhance laws, expand existing programs, and undertake to develop new interlock programs. It is clear that the level of confidence in alcohol interlocks has grown as seen by the increasing investment in program development and implementation, which have become priorities as jurisdictions are taking ownership of these programs.

During the closing plenary, attendees learned about the success that has been achieved in Washington State by building partnerships, improving the allocation of resources, identifying priorities and working towards a common goal. This approach has enabled Washington to change attitudes, improve road safety, and reduce fatalities. There are important lessons to be learned from this experience to inform the development and delivery of interlock programs around the world.

At the awards dinner Monday night there were two important announcements. The first recipient of the Barry Sweedler Award, Mr. Gerald Waters, from New Zealand, was acknowledged for his unwavering drive for knowledge on and understanding of the issue of impaired driving, promotion of evidence-based solutions such as alcohol interlocks, and his pursuit of change in the justice system in dealing with these offenders. Congratulations to Gerald and to all the nominees! In addition, the formation of a National Association of State Interlock Administrators, which will be led by Toby Taylor of the Oklahoma Board of Tests, was announced.

Many thanks to all our speakers, moderators, and sponsors for their participation and support in this year’s symposium. Their contributions made it possible to share experiences, and create new opportunities to advance the field of alcohol interlocks. Presentations from this event are now available online and official proceedings will be available in 2012.

We hope you are all able to join us in September 2012 in Helsinki, Finland with our local host, Trafi (Finnish Transport Safety Agency).

TIRF Announces Gerald Waters from New Zealand as the 2011 Barry Sweedler Award Recipient

Mr. Waters is a road safety advocate from New Zealand, who after losing a friend in 2010 to a repeat drunk driver, wrote to New Zealand’s Justice Minister asking for a review of the justice system’s handling of drunk driving offenders. Later that year, Mr. Waters appeared before a parliamentary select committee and spoke of the need to do more to address recidivist drunk drivers and the impaired driving problem in New Zealand. Mr. Waters provided a voice for victims both living and deceased and was featured in the media for his participation in the committee hearings as well as his commentary on the trial of the repeat drunk driver who had killed his friend.

Although not an academic by trade, after learning more about alcohol and drug impaired driving and consulting with recognized experts and professionals around the world, he wrote a paper in 2011, entitled The Case of Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts in New Zealand, highlighting the connection between drugs and alcohol and a majority of crime in New Zealand. He further emphasized the value of alcohol interlocks as part of the solution, and the need for collaboration between New Zealand political parties on initiatives to address the problem. He also advocated for greater public education on the issue and ways that the public can be part of the solution.

It is Mr. Waters' unwavering drive for knowledge on and understanding of the issue of impaired driving, promotion of evidence-based solutions such as alcohol interlocks, and his pursuit of change in the justice system in dealing with these offenders that has earned him this year’s Barry Sweedler Award. In a relatively short time Mr. Waters has been able to change the way many people in New Zealand view the impaired driving problem. We look forward to seeing what he has in store for us in the years to come.

Once again, congratulations to Gerald and to all this year’s nominees.

About the Barry Sweedler Award

Barry Sweedler’s influential career in road safety spanned more than three decades. Following his long and distinguished service at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, he became a founding partner of Safety and Policy Analysis International, and served as the president of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS). Barry was also a strong supporter of solutions to prevent and reduce alcohol impaired driving, including alcohol ignition interlocks. He was an active attendee at the Annual International Alcohol Interlock Symposia series, and supportive of new attendees, new ideas, and perspectives to advance the field.

In honor of Barry's contributions to improve traffic safety, the Barry Sweedler Award is conferred upon one individual each year. Nominees of this award have shown leadership in the drunk driving field through their work to support, promote, strengthen, expand and/or advance the use and delivery of alcohol interlocks. They have also encouraged cooperation across agencies and built partnerships to raise awareness about the effectiveness of these devices and best practice program features.
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New Guide on interlock Vendor Oversight Released at Symposium

TIRF is also pleased to announce the release of a new ignition interlock guide, entitled Alcohol Interlock Programs: Vendor Oversight. The 48-page guide looks at protocols for vendor oversight and monitoring for alcohol interlock programs. As interlock programs have grown, staff has also begun to consider the importance of protocols for vendor oversight and monitoring. A vendor oversight plan describes how and by whom vendor services are monitored to ensure that operations are consistent with device and delivery requirements specified in administrative rules or in any contract or certification process. The guide contains a series of practical steps to guide the development process of vendor oversight and highlights relevant issues that require consideration as part of any vendor oversight strategy. The guide also contains sample oversight documents from various jurisdictions across the United States.

A companion piece to this report that describes critical steps and considerations involved in the transition from a paper-based reporting system to an automated data reporting system for interlock programs will be released in the winter of 2011/2012.

Click here to download the Alcohol Interlock Programs: Vendor Oversight report.

Hard copies of the report are available by request. Please note that a shipping fee may apply.
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2012 International Alcohol Interlock Symposium

Mark your calendars! The 13th Annual International Alcohol Interlock Symposium will be held in Helsinki, Finland in August 2012.

Click here to learn more about the Alcohol Interlock Symposium.

Sara Oglestone
Manager, Marketing and Communications - Directrice, marketing et communications
613-238-5235 ext. 304 (office)
1-877-238-5235 (toll-free)
sarao@tirf.ca
www.tirf.ca

Integrating Systems: Creating a Continuum of Care

More jurisdictions are exploring opportunities to integrate elements of licensing, criminal justice and treatment systems into interlock programs.

This would enable program staff to better address the varying levels of risk posed by offenders and respond to their diverse needs. Such an approach would enable jurisdictions to target limited resources accordingly towards offenders. As evidence of this, not only is there a growing emphasis on incorporating a treatment component into interlock programs to target high risk offenders with a diagnosed drinking problem, but there is also a growing recognition that criminal justice elements may be the only strategy to ensure non compliant offenders are appropriately managed.

At the same time, the issue of jurisdictional reciprocity also falls within the scope of this topic and is another emerging issue. Efforts are needed to better understand the magnitude of this issue; why it occurs, and how it can be overcome.

Finally, more jurisdictions are interested in moving from a paper based to an electronic reporting system to facilitate management of a growing number of offenders. This is an ideal opportunity to explore opportunities to integrate data systems so that licensing, criminal justice and treatment agencies are better positioned to share information and improve the monitoring and tracking of offenders across agencies and jurisdictions.

Please join the discussion.

Interlock Symposium exposure in Mobility Magazine

Earlier this month, Mobility Magazine included an interesting and thorough article regarding alcohol interlocks, their benefits and affects, as well as global implementation. The following is an excerpt from the article:

"In September, the 12th Annual International Alcohol Interlock Symposium, held [this year] in California, will focus on integrating systems and creating a continuum of care. Attended by representatives of associations and ministries, as well as industry players and consultants, the three-day event [will include] panel presentations and discussion groups, [as well as] discuss and promote the role of alcolocks, and run an introductory workshop for newcomers and an exhibition for vendors."

“Moves to introduce new legislation, advances in technology, the development of programmes and operational practices, all backed by international events, are strong signs that there is growing enthusiasm for alcolocks in many countries.”

- Lesley Brown
“Driving Drink Off The Roads”
Page 140 - 143, Mobility Magazine, Issue #19 (2011 Second Half Year)
July 2011

To read the full article, please navigate to Mobility Magazine.

May 11, 2011

The Alcohol Interlock Symposium Team congratulates Alcohol Interlock proponent and previous guest speaker Dr. Charles Mercier-Guyon on his recent decoration as the newest member of The National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest official French decoration in existence.

Charles Mercier-Guyon, MD is the Secretary of the Medical Council of the French Road Safety Association. He is a forensic practitioner and works in emergency medicine in Haute-Savoie, France.

Charles serves as an expert in the Working Group on Alcohol and Drugs in Traffic Safety for the EU Directorate-General of Energy and Transports. In 2004, he initiated France’s national ALCOLOCK(tm) program for drink drivers.

To learn more about the Legion of Honour, please visit the Legion of Honour Wikipedia page.

From left to right: Senator Jean-paul Amoudry, Deputy Lionel Tardy, Senator Jean-Claude Carle, Bernard Pottier - President of Prévention Routière, Senator Pierre Hérisson, Justice Minister Michel Mercier, Dr. Charles Mercier-Guyon, Félix Comeau, Jean-Luc Rigaut - Mayor of Annecy, Philippe Derumigny - Prefect of Haute Savoie, Bernard Bosson - former Minister