NCJ Number
94969
Date Published
1983
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Because the effectiveness of traditional countermeasures for drinking/driving has been limited, alternative means to reduce alcohol-related crashes are needed, such as revised regulations concerning the pricing and marketing of alcoholic beverages and programs to develop strong social norms prohibiting driving after drinking.
Abstract
Many States are applying several traditional approaches with renewed vigor, including harsher penalties and increased enforcement, to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. Severe penalties, however, are unlikely to be effective as long as the probability for being arrested for drinking/driving remains low, and increased enforcement activities are usually crash programs which are temporary. Refinements in law and procedures governing violators of driving-while-intoxicated laws are an important step in increasing the probability of punishment for impaired drivers, but they probably will not reduce alcohol-related crashes since they affect only a small minority of drinking drivers, who may repeat their offenses. In addition, the driving population constantly changes with the addition of new drivers. A second traditional countermeasure is treatment of individuals arrested for drunk driving. These programs have had limited success in rehabilitating drinkers and often miss youthful drivers, who have the highest rates of alcohol-related crashes. Finally, even successful public information campaigns usually have only temporary effects. One alternative strategy might focus on improving road design to reduce the probability of serious injury once a crash has occurred, restricting licenses, and placing curfews on young drivers. Other approaches are making alcohol less available through regulations, increasing prices through excise taxes, and making commercial servers liable for damages in alcohol-related traffic crash injuries and deaths. alcohol-related traffic crash injuries and deaths. The monograph contains 12 references.