NCJ Number
100908
Date Published
1984
Length
100 pages
Annotation
This report documents weaknesses in the law enforcement, judicial, and treatment systems which contribute to the persistence of the repeat offender drunk driver problem and recommends corrective steps to be taken by State and Federal agencies.
Abstract
Information sources include accident investigations conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board in major cities; a review of alcohol education, enforcement, judicial, and treatment systems in several States; and interviews with 40 convicted drunk drivers with previous alcohol-related convictions. Events encountered by drunk drivers are examined in chronological order: stop or arrest, court proceedings, sentencing process, sanctions, treatment and rehabilitation, records, and juvenile offenders. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research indicates that 53 percent of fatal motor vehicle crashes involve alcohol and that 30 percent of the approximately 773,000 drunk driving convictions are repeat offenders. The report concludes that drunk drivers persist in their behavior because they believe, correctly, that risk of arrest and penalty is low. Recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving, 51 case histories, incentive grant criteria for alcohol traffic safety programs, and footnotes.