Motoring Offences as Crime - Some Priorities for Social and Action Research

• NCJ Number: 85208
• Journal: Australian Journal of Social Issues Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: (1981) Pages: 268-284
• Author(s): R Homel
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Revised version of a paper presented to the Road Safety Initiatives Conference, Melbourne, 1980.

Annotation

Focusing on ways in which road users' behavior may be modified, particularly through legal sanctions against drunk driving, an Australian social scientist reviews recent trends in criminology and assesses their relevance for road safety research.

Abstract

Research priorities should be in the areas of general deterrence (particularly the value of random breath testing), physical prevention, and study of the criminal justice system (especially the police). Close attention should be paid to the political context within which the research is carried out. Researchers should include greater use of direct and self-reported measures of behavior in addition to official statistics; experimental techniques rather than 'quasi-experimental,' where possible; and interrupted time-series analyses of the effects of legislative changes. They should closely analyze the way in which traffic crash and violation data are recorded. A total of 54 references are included. (Author abstract modified)