Factors Associated With DWI (Driving While Impaired) Convictions

• NCJ Number: 114045
• Author(s): C L Popkin; J R Stewart; J H Lacey; L C Rudisill; E A Rodgman
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 13 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program
• Corporate Author: University of North Carolina
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paper presented at the 31st Annual Proceedings of the American Association for Automotive Medicine, September 28-30, 1987, New Orleans, La.

Annotation

In assessing the impact of a 1983 North Carolina law designed to remove biases in drunk-driving (DD) adjudication by eliminating plea bargaining, this study replicates an earlier study that measured the influence of various defendant-related variables on the likelihood of a DD conviction.

Abstract

The variables examined in the study were blood alcohol content (BAC); number of previous DD convictions; number of DD arrests in the previous 2 years; year of most recent conviction; and the defendant's age, race, and sex. Data on these variables were obtained from the North Carolina Driver History File of all persons arrested for DD in calendar years 1984 and 1985 (after the new law) and in 1979 and 1980 (before the new law). Study findings indicate that the intent of the new law (The Safe Roads Act) has been largely fulfilled, since the overall conviction rates have increased at all BAC levels, and racial differences in conviction rates have been greatly reduced. Whether the increased and more uniform conviction rates will reduce recidivism rates is the subject of a future study. 1 table, 1 figure, 11 references.