NCJ Number
204670
Date Published
2002
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This report presents the major views and recommendations expressed by participants at the National Commission Against Drunk Driving’s 2001 Town Hall Meeting, held in Washington, DC.
Abstract
In the early 1980’s, MADD and RID brought great public attention to the problem of drunk driving, which helped change public policy and law to reflect the seriousness of driving while intoxicated. However, little progress has been made recently and alcohol-related fatalities rose during 2000. In an effort to refocus attention on the problem of drunk driving, participants of the 2001 Town Hall meeting identified key problem areas and sought strategies to overcome them. The two overriding issues that emerged from these discussions were strong leadership and a high public priority for the fight against drunk driving. Without these two factors, drunk driving will continue to plague communities. Strong leadership will set the priorities, allocate the resources, attract public attention, and produce the actions necessary to combat dunk driving. A high public priority for changes in drunk driving policies is necessary, but a recent lack of media coverage on the problem of drunk driving indicates a low public priority for fighting against drunk driving. Six other issues emerged as important during the Town Hall meeting. These included the fact that all levels of government and community should be included and have a stake in the fight against drunk driving; funding for drunk driving initiates should be more freely awarded; all levels of the drunk driving control system should be held accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities; improvements are necessary in record and data keeping systems; an emphasis should be placed on strategies that have been empirically determined to be effective at reducing drunk driving; and interagency cooperation should be fostered. Participants also offered recommendations concerning improvements in the drunk driving control systems, such as improvements in law, law enforcement practices, prosecutor and judge practices, probation and treatment, and driver licensing. Recommendations for changes are also made for the areas of public education, technology, health-related issues, juvenile drunk drivers, community action, enforcement of zero tolerance laws and minimum drinking age, and prevention. Progress against drunk driving will depend on a high public priority, strong leadership at all levels, and a commitment by everyone. Tables, selected references