Our roads are safer thanks to the state's 24/7 Sobriety Program; that's according to the South Dakota Attorney General. Marty Jackley released the results of a recent study that show the program is working.
According to the Mountain Plains study, the 24/7 Sobriety Program is doing what it was designed to do.
"What the study shows is the 24/7 Program reduces the likelihood of re-offending and more specifically shows individuals on the program are pretty successful at completing the requirements of the program," Jackley said.
When someone is convicted of DUI, they are required to blow twice a day into a breath test. And according to the study, over 99 percent of them blow clean.
But Jackley says there is room for improvement.
"There is that little sliver that either failed or was a no show, but overall, we are very pleased that we are having this much success with individuals taking the PBT tests," Jackley said.
The 24/7 Sobriety Program started back in 2005 as a pilot project. Today the program includes 67 agencies involving police departments and sheriff's offices across the state. In all, over five million breath tests have been conducted on DUI offenders since the 24/7 program began.
"When you look at the overall history of the 24/7 program, we've had over 31,000 participants and the studies show overwhelmingly we are able to reduce the likelihood of re-offending, which I think is improves public safety," Jackley said.
Each time a person has to blow into the testing device, it costs them $1.
Other testing methods were introduced in 2007 including: 68,412 urinalysis tests administered to 2,632 participants with a pass rate of 96.8 percent; and 1,447 drug patch tests administered to 125 participants with a pass rate of 89 percent. In June of 2012, the ignition interlock devices for vehicles were added to the program, but currently no statistical data is available.
Comments