NCJ Number
138669
Journal
Law and Society Review Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: (1992) Pages: 219-230
Date Published
1992
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This review of four recent books on drunk driving focuses on the extent of drunk driving, the deterrence of drunk driving through law, and the development of a new model for a strategy to address drunk driving.
Abstract
The four books reviewed are "Traffic Safety and the Driver" (Leonard Evans, 1991); "Drunk Driving: An American Dilemma" (James B. Jacobs, 1988); "Traffic Safety Reform in the United States and Great Britain" (Jerome S. Legge, Jr., 1991); and "Drinking and Driving: Advances in Research and Prevention" (R. Jean Wilson and Robert E. Mann, 1990). Using data from the Federal Fatal Accident Reporting System to estimate reductions in deaths that would occur if all drivers had no alcohol in the blood, Evans concludes that in the absence of alcohol nearly 50 percent fewer crash fatalities would occur, and more than 20,000 lives would be saved annually in the United States. Although the estimation method can be challenged, most would agree with Evans' assertion that alcohol is the largest single factor that contributes to traffic-crash losses. All four books provide evidence that under some circumstances it may be possible to achieve important and lasting reductions of drunk driving through the deterrence mechanisms. They differ, however, in their appraisal of the degree to which the policy succeeds in the achievement of important and lasting reductions in drunk driving. Although all the authors endorse deterrent policy to some extent, they agree that more attention must be paid to the underlying institutional causes of drunk driving and to policies other than deterrence. This involves the development of strategies to decrease alcohol consumption through such means as increasing its price, decreasing its availability, and decreasing its advertising. 10 references