When laws regarding impaired driving changed in Alberta, Canada, Transportation and Economic Corridors, Driver Monitoring, found itself suddenly processing far more applications for the ignition interlock program (IIP) than before.

The ignition interlock system uses a blood-alcohol measurement device, if the driver’s blood alcohol exceeds 0.040, a violation on the ignition interlock device is recorded and the vehicle will not start. The IIP is available for those drivers who have had their licenses suspended due to impaired driving charges. Beyond keeping impaired drivers from being able to start their cars, the device records and reports blood-alcohol levels.

Prior to July 2012, the IIP was voluntary in most cases. After that, it became mandatory for anyone convicted of impaired driving in Alberta. In December 2020, Alberta revised the Traffic Safety Act, adding the Immediate Roadside Sanctions for impaired driving.

Transportation and Economic Corridors, Driver Monitoring team—part of the Monitoring and Compliance Branch—is responsible for the IIP. Driver Monitoring headed the campaign to determine and implement a solution.

Before 2020, the team processed approximately 3,200 ignition interlock applications per year. After the revision in 2020, the team was hit with a 56% increase in applications, with 5,400 program applications each year.

Each time a driver submitted a program application there was about half an hour’s worth of processing time, which resulted in backlogs, sometimes requiring a 45-day processing turnaround. To avoid being excessively bogged down and increase the response time for participants, a quicker method had to be found. Team lead Rebecca Frost and her team considered several methods of speeding up processing before deciding on using AI.

After looking at several possible fixes, the team decided on Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which uses AI to emulate human actions quickly and accurately. Frost’s team collaborated with software developers to create an RPA program to read motor vehicle IDs, gather information from the Motor Vehicle Database and more, all on its own, within seconds. RPA now takes care of about 90% of ignition interlock applications and has saved the team approximately 330 days in processing time. Development was quick and efficient, taking less than a year and coming in under budget.

This improved application method accelerates the process for Driver Monitoring employees. “RPA gives us a chance to free up a lot of employee time to focus on the monitoring of participants on the program, so that we’re able to get more drivers on the program and make the roads safer.”

Speed of processing was just one of two key points of concern; the other was accuracy. An inaccurate or unreliable system would be no help, not to mention a nightmare for both Driver Monitoring and program participants. The RPA automation, however, has created very reliable and consistent results.

“It has been a game changer for us,” Frost shares. She wants to see similar AI-based solutions put in place for other procedures within Driver Monitoring. “There’s definitely an opportunity for this technology to be used elsewhere. As we go forward with this, we can start looking at other ways we can apply this to managing driver records. We can start looking at other tasks and other processes where we can utilize this.”

As AI solutions become more commonplace, a degree of caution and distrust comes with it. After all, examples of AI being used for questionable purposes are all over the internet. Frost feels, though, that when used correctly, AI is a remarkable tool.

“It can be very efficient,” she says. “I have no complaints about this technology, and it’s been really wonderful for the team. We’ve saved so many hours by going ahead with this. It’s been great for us.”