Siim and Jane were caught driving under the influence two years ago. Both say that it saved their lives, as alcohol had come to play an increasingly big part in it.

"I went to the shop in Luunja and got two half-liter bottles of vodka. I went home. It may have been around two o'clock. I drank a little more than one bottle, I believe it may have been 0.7 liters and went to sleep. When I woke up, I found that I only had a little alcohol left and because it was getting late, I decided to quickly drive to the shop. That was a typical day in the life. My need for alcohol was such that I could not imagine getting through the day without it," Siim recalled.

Siim (49), who lives near Tartu, had already lost his family to alcohol but was not able to shake the addiction on his own or even with help from friends. In April of 2023, he decided to drive – as he had done many times before – to the shop for more alcohol while drunk.

"I don't remember how I got to the store. But I remember that my car was parked right outside the entrance. I parked /.../, went in, and, based on what I can remember, walked between the aisles, grabbed a bottle of vodka and stumbled and fell over some alcohol bottles, landing face first in front of the cash register," Siim said.

Mother of two Jane (47) said that while alcohol did not control her life, driving with traces of alcohol in her blood was still commonplace. The moment of truth for the South Estonia resident came on Mother's Day 2023. "I mostly drink cocktails, mixed drinks or dark beer," she said.

"The kids brought me flowers and everything was very nice. We went to my mother's around seven in the evening. There was a large and merry group of drunk people there. I had flowers, a present for my mother and a bottle of Jägermeister with me. We drank some of it, my mom and I, over the next couple of hours. Over time, the people there became aggressive, which started affecting me. That is when I decided to take my kids and leave," Jane recalled.

I knew that I had been drinking but felt just fine. I was sure I was fine to drive home," Jane said. The trip was around ten kilometers.

Jane's blood alcohol content (BAC) was 1.8 parts per mille, which is slightly over the criminal level. Siim's breathalyzer test came back at almost 4 parts per mille. Both admit in hindsight that their pattern of behavior was extremely dangerous and it was sheer luck no one was injured.

First offenders can opt for a special program

Each year, the police catch thousands of drunk drivers in Estonia. Several hundred accidents involving intoxicated drivers occur annually, injuring hundreds of people and causing around ten fatalities.

Notably, nearly a quarter of those caught driving under the influence are repeat offenders. Experts say this indicates that the problem is significant, and traditional punitive measures are insufficient.

In response, the Ministry of Justice launched a program in 2016 that offers first-time offenders an alternative to judicial punishment or the loss of their driving rights. According to Krister Tüllinen, a criminal policy adviser, the first time someone is caught is a critical moment when intervention can still make a difference.

"It can be seen as a kind of crisis. /.../ The rule of thumb is that /.../ the less you have in terms of a criminal background, the bigger the crisis committing a crime constitutes for a person. When you're put in the back of a police car, when you're detained for 48 hours, when you appear in front of the prosecutor or have your day in court, all of it can be seen as a personal crisis. And it makes sense to take advantage of this," Tüllinen explained.

The principle is essentially that the criminal case is conditionally closed with a plea deal if the individual agrees to attend sessions with a mental health nurse, complete a traffic safety course, provide quarterly blood tests to prove reduced alcohol consumption and refrain from driving under the influence again.

Initially, this option was offered on a trial basis to a small group, but now two-thirds of offenders are directed toward this opportunity. To date, 4,500 people have participated, with 1,000 joining in the past year alone. Jane and Siim also chose this option.

What makes this rehabilitation program unique is that offenders retain their driving rights and are not required to maintain total sobriety. The blood tests, which participants partly pay for themselves, monitor whether alcohol consumption drops to a low level. On the one hand, this serves as a form of oversight, but it also provides participants with an indication of their physical condition.

"All of these objectifiable opportunities help, because you can't cheat there, something will come out. Our people are very material, meaning that if you have something on paper to show them, it works better than just talking. Health indicators are an important factor in motivating people and helping them move in the right direction," said Andres Lehtmets, head of the Tartu University Hospital's Psychiatry Clinic.

Aim of the program to have fewer repeat offenders

Experienced psychiatrist and addiction specialist Andres Lehtmets, along with the officials involved, do not harbor illusions that the program is foolproof. If alcohol dependence has developed, as it had in Siim's case, it is a serious condition that can be managed but not cured. According to Tüllinen, however, the program still meets its objective of reducing repeat offenders.

"We know that recidivism in this case is around half of what it is for people who are prosecuted. [For those in the program] the recidivism rate is around 3-4 percent. If we take 1,000 people, we know that terminating their criminal proceedings, we'll see around 30 of them reoffend in the next two years. We also have prior data from when prosecution was the only option in which case the [recidivism] rate was 80-100 people. Therefore, we can reliably reduce new crimes being committed through this program," Tüllinen explained.

"Unfortunately, addiction has a very high relapse rate. This must be considered both in treatment and by the individual in their future life," Lehtmets explained. "It's a topic that's definitely addressed in counseling sessions to provide people with practical understanding – how to act in such situations, how to prevent relapse and everything that comes with it. But sadly, there's no miraculous recovery where one day a person wakes up and the problem is gone. The risk of alcohol dependence remains with a person until their last breath."

The program lasts for a year. If participants relapse during this time, they face judicial punishment. Siim and Jane successfully completed the one-year probation, and according to them, they now consume alcohol minimally and are optimistic about staying on track.

"If I had killed a child in an accident, my life would have been over, and that child's life would have been over too. And it would have affected all of our loved ones," said Siim. "If only people could prevent this and understand the consequences."

"Really, why drink so much alcohol at all? And secondly, why don't people think before they get behind the wheel about what could happen? You might feel fine, but what if you end up crippling yourself or someone else?" added Jane.

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