Alcohol interlock legislation
From 2011 to 2016, you were given an alcolock as a punishment if you were caught with 1,3 to 1,8 per mille of alcohol in your blood and as a novice driver (less than 5 years of driving license) between 1,0 and 1,8 per mille. . The alcolock was a government measure, but at the same time it was also a choice of the driver because it was not mandatory to take an alcolock. The alternative was a driving ban for many years.
Although it was of course an annoying measure for alcohol abusers on the one hand, it was also a way out for those who earn their living on the road such as taxi drivers, sales representatives and truck drivers. It was the only way to keep your driver's license still valid.
ABOLITION
The alcolock was therefore a last resort for those who made a stupid mistake, but why was it abolished in 2016? The Council of State found, among other things, that the alcolock was too strict and that it did not take sufficient account of the consequences of the punishment. It was not the judge, but the CBR who could 'offer' an alcolock. And the driver not only had to pay thousands of euros, blow continuously and get a driver's license with a code on it: he also had to take courses on the nasty consequences that driving while drunk can have. By the way, the lock was not actually abolished in 2016, but it has not been re-imposed since that year.
FUTURE
Because the alcolock makes a positive contribution to road safety and it is the ultimate lock on the door for repeat offenders who cannot resist participating in traffic with a drink, a return of the alcolock is only a matter of time. The Council of the European Union has approved the European Commission's plan to make it mandatory for new cars to be equipped with an alcohol interlock. This would concern cars that will roll off the production line from 2022.
