NCJ Number
183252
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 51-60
Date Published
2000
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article presents the evaluation methodology and findings for a program in Salinas, Calif., designed to reduce alcohol-related injuries through an "environmental policy" approach.
Abstract
The data collection was designed to provide an accounting of the activities that occurred, to measure the process of change in drinking and driving data, and to determine whether the ultimate objective of reducing injury was accomplished. The program period addressed was from November 1993 to December 1996. The first interventions involved increased police enforcement with sobriety checkpoints combined with extensive use of the media. This was later augmented with additional interventions that focused on sales to minors, responsible beverage service, and a general effort to reduce access to alcohol in the community. The evaluation involved a comparison community that did not have the interventions used in Salinas. The evaluation data for Salinas and the comparison community included 16 years of crash data, 6 years of hospital discharge data, and for Salinas only, 4 years of data collected on drivers through roadside surveys. The findings show that the interventions in Salinas were successful in lowering the rate of nighttime traffic injuries and the number of admissions to hospitals due to traffic accidents. Altogether there were 116 fewer injury accidents, representing a savings of $7,076,000 over the 38 months. 4 tables, 2 figures