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About one third of all traffic accidents in
Europe are related to alcohol, resulting in
some 15,000 fatalities every year. Finland,
Norway and Sweden have begun a massive
joint campaign to reduce these figures.
A great deal of useful experience is being
gathered as part of an EU project.
The Swedish parliamentarian Karin Svensson
Smith is on the offensive: “We must prevent
intoxicated drivers from taking to the road!”
She is currently heading an investigation
commission looking into the potential benefits
of ‘alcohol interlocks’. These devices
make it impossible to start a vehicle’s engine until the driver has given a breath
sample that is below the preset alcohol
concentration limit. A technology that has
been in use for over 15 years – in Australia,
Canada and the USA, for example – and
has led to a reduction of between 45 percent
and 90 percent in repeat drunk-driving
offences. Dräger Safety has over 50 years’
experience in the field of breath alcohol
measurement and has been established in
these markets for over ten years with the
Dräger Interlocks. The actual device – now
in its second generation – uses ultra-modern
sensor technology. The company is |
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also active in the Scandinavian countries,
supplying the product to transportation
businesses, bus and taxi companies, and
private individuals who wish to use it voluntarily.
Dräger Safety is also a partner of the
official rehabilitation program for drunkdriving
offenders in Sweden and Finland.
Part of the state-run scheme involves ignition
interlocks being recommended for
those convicted of driving while intoxicated
to allow them to regain their driver’s licenses
earlier. Because the problem of alcohol at
the wheel is not contained by borders, the
task of combating it is a worldwide one.
Dr. Johannes Lagois, expert on alcotest and
interlock devices at Dräger Safety, has the
job of reconciling different national standards
and legislation. “We are currently
developing software to enable the authorities
in Australia, USA, Finland and Sweden
to access the data pool of the programs for
drunk-driving offenders,” explains the
physicist. |
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In Lillehammer, Norway, an EU project was
completed at the end of 2005. The 13 buses
of the city public transportation system had
been fitted with the Dräger Interlock XT for
one year. “The public reaction was extremely
positive,” remarks Christian Jarlsby of
Dräger Safety Norge. The lines of communication between Lübeck
and the Scandinavian countries are bundled
and coordinated by Marko Wittich, Head of
Dräger Safety’s Business Center Europe
North. Dräger Safety’s Scandinavian network
comprises of subsidiaries and regional
distribution partners. This network is, for
example, organizing the product distribution
and maintenance in these large but sparsely
populated countries. “We combine our own
strengths – namely highly reliable products
with state-of-the-art technology – with the
strengths of our regional sales and service
partners. As a result, we have a widespread
network of over one hundred interlock-specialized
support points throughout the Scandinavian
countries,” explains Marko Wittich.
And his Marketing Manager at Dräger
Safety Sverige, Pierre Gustavsson, adds:
“In Sweden, there are already over 2,000
Dräger Interlock XTs in use, and that number
is increasing rapidly.” Talks about fitting
interlocks as original equipment of new cars
are already taking place with both Swedish
automobile manufacturers. Plus the Swedish
authorities are starting to equip their new
vehicles with interlocks, and their rail vehicles. |
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Proposals to fit interlocks to all newly registered
vehicles in Sweden from no later than 2012 are currently under discussion.
More and more companies are already
doing so voluntarily. The network for safety
just keeps on growing. |
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Burkard Dillig
Dräger Safety AG & Co. KGaA |
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Dräger Safety AG & Co. KGaA |
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Revalstrasse 1 |
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23560 Luebeck, Germany |
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Tel +49 451 882 0
Fax +49 451 882 2080
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