From 2011, persons who got behind the wheel with one drink too many could be imposed an alcohol lock programme. The alcohol lock is an immobiliser installed in the car.

The lock measures the driver's breath and prevents the car from starting if the driver has drunk too much alcohol.

The offender who had been imposed an alcolock programme was additionally hanging over the head a punishment from the judge. It so happened that the offender first had to spend some €5,000 compulsorily on an alcolock and was then saddled with a fine and/or a disqualification from driving! This was possible because, until recently, the alcolock was seen not as a penalty but as an administrative measure, aimed at restoring road safety as much as possible. A measure can be imposed in addition to a penalty. If the alcolock were regarded as a penalty, double punishment would not be possible.

It eventually took more than three years for the courts in The Hague and Arnhem to finally recognise, on 22 September and 5 November 2014 respectively, that the consequences of imposing an alcolock were so far-reaching that the lock should not be considered a measure but a punishment. The prosecution was not allowed by them, due to the prohibition of double punishment, to claim additional punishment against persons who were already participating in the alcolock programme.

These rulings prompted the justice minister to stop the CBR from imposing alcolock programmes for the time being. Possibilities are now being explored to give the criminal court this power. The alcolock could then become part of the punishment, preventing someone from being punished twice. Moreover, unlike the CBR, the judge could include personal circumstances in the decision-making process.

But before the alcohol lock would be given a second chance, numerous common defects of the lock will have to be fixed, which affect the reliability of the breathalyzer. Not to mention its susceptibility to fraud! This is because the alcohol lock cannot find out whether the breath that unlocks it actually belongs to the driver. So the future of the alcohol lock is very uncertain. The lock manufacturer will hold its breath.

Mr D.M. Penn