NCJ Number
107862
Date Published
1987
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study examined compliance with Indiana's 1985 law that mandated the testing for intoxication of every driver involved in a fatal or serious traffic accident.
Abstract
Using State police accident data tapes for 1984, 1985, and 1986, the level of alcohol testing done on fatal and serious personal injury traffic accidents was compared for the 12 months immediately preceding the law change (September 1, 1984, through August 31, 1985) and the 12 months following the change. In the year since the law, there has been a 28-percent increase in alcohol-consumption testing for drivers involved in fatal and serious traffic accidents. Although the overall rate (59 percent) of testing is still below what some believe to be an acceptable level, significant progress has been made. Missing or unknown test results, however, indicate shortcomings in the data collection process. Additional training is required to improve procedures for testing and recording results for drivers involved in nonfatal serious accidents. Further research, including the collection of the results of field sobriety and breath tests associated with serious traffic accidents, is required to determine why uninjured drivers are tested at such a low rate. The computer software package presented in this report should be used to monitor alcohol testing to ensure continued and increased compliance with the law. 2 references and appended data.