Passing the breathalyzer becomes a cash prize in Australia: see how it works

Police in Manjimup, in southern Western Australia, have adopted an unusual strategy against drunk driving: instead of just punishing drinkers, they have started rewarding those who don’t. Throughout the month of September, drivers stopped in checkpoints who register a zero result in the breathalyzer can receive a voucher of about R$ 73 (AU$ 20).

There will be 100 vouchers, the equivalent of AU$ 2,000 (approximately R$ 7,300). The money does not come out of the police budget: the action is funded by Holyoake, an organization that supports alcohol and drug addicts and is part of the local road safety committee.

Responsible for the operation, Sergeant Tyler Winter told public broadcaster ABC that the choice of September was not accidental. The month concentrates the Australian football finals and the beginning of school holidays, a period in which the flow on the roads increases. According to him, the intention is to recognize good behavior in a year marked by a high number of deaths on the state’s highways.

The reversal of the zero-tolerance logic came from the road safety committee itself, the sergeant said, under the hypothesis that a positive interaction with the driver would fix the message better than just the threat of a fine. Manjimup is 290 km south of Perth, about three hours by car.

Criminologist sees image

action Criminologist Matthew Morgan, from the Australian Catholic University, called the measure innovative, but told the ABC that he sees it mainly as a public relations exercise, efficient in bringing the police closer to the community and dubious about reducing driving under the influence of alcohol.

He pondered, however, that research shows a good response of drivers to immediate stimuli. As an example, he cited electronic speed panels that display a happy or sad face according to respect for the road limit, a mechanism that, according to the researcher, activates the brain’s reward system and has been proven to reduce speeding.

Jo Woodruff, coordinator of Holyoake, said that the entity will ask the police to collect data on the action. This first edition will serve as a basis for comparison for possible repetitions in the coming years.

Local program, no official

metrics The Western Australian Police said it supports different local initiatives of the Blow Zero program and recalled that the Moora police, in the Wheatbelt region, had already tested a similar system of valleys. The corporation stressed that these actions are not state enforcement programs and, therefore, do not undergo formal performance evaluation or enter official statistics.

The incentive coexists with the seasonal hardening of repression. On the weekend of the AFL grand final, which coincides with the extended holiday of the King’s Birthday in the state, traffic violations are worth double points on the license. In Brazil, the logic is different: driving under the influence of alcohol is a very serious infraction, with a fine of R$ 2,934.70, seven points on the CNH and suspension of the right to drive for 12 months.