Center for Problem-Oriented Policing
Summary of Responses to Drunk Driving
The table below summarizes various responses to drunk driving, the mechanisms by which these responses are intended to work, the conditions under which they should work best, and factors that should be considered before a particular response is implemented. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances and that you can justify each response based upon reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve several different responses, because law enforcement alone is seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If… | Considerations |
| Legislation | ||||
| 1. | Reducing the legal limit of per se violations | Increases the probability of successful prosecution of drunk driving charges; subjects more dangerous drivers to legal sanctions; communicates societal intolerance for drinking and driving | … reinforced by adequate enforcement at the lower limits | Police officers may be unwilling to enforce if they do not understand the risk of driving at lower limits; enforcement at lower limits will increase the number of cases in the courts |
| 2. | Requiring drivers to submit to blood alcohol testing when arrested for drunk driving | Increases both the certainty of arrest when a stop is made and the probability of successful prosecution; provides drivers with social justification for not drinking | … police have the authority to demand testing of drivers stopped at random | In the United States, police must establish probable cause in order to demand testing |
| 3. | Raising the minimum legal drinking age | Reduces the overall alcohol consumption of inexperienced, high-risk drivers | … enforcement levels are high enough to convince underage drivers that they face a substantial risk of arrest; legislation and enforcement is supported by parents | Strict enforcement can substantially increase court caseloads |
| 4. | Prohibiting open alcohol containers in moving vehicles | Reduces the likelihood that a driver will consume alcohol while driving | … adequately enforced; prohibition applies equally to drivers and passengers | Provides police with additional justification for stopping suspected drunk drivers |
| 5. | Requiring drivers and passengers to wear seat belts | Reduces the risk of serious injury when a crash occurs | … adequately enforced | Some jurisdictions may not authorize police stops solely on the basis of seat belt violations |
| Enforcement | ||||
| 6. | Increasing the number of police stops of suspected drunk drivers during high-risk times of day | Increases the perceived risk of apprehension among drinking drivers | … police officers have viable alternatives to custodial arrest for some stopped drivers; police officers have sufficient resources to make a high number of stops | Competing priorities for police attention may limit the number of stops officers can realistically make; police officers must believe that their reasonable exercise of discretion in employing alternatives to arrest will be supported |
| 7. | Conducting sobriety checkpoints | Increases the perceived risk of apprehension among drinking drivers | … the public supports the practice; officers are properly trained to detect impaired drivers | Legal requirements must be met; checkpoints should be highly visible to maximize their general deterrent effect; because they can be costly to conduct, checkpoints are not necessarily the most efficient method of stopping drunk drivers |
| 8. | Training police officers to detect impaired drivers | Increases the probability of arrest once a stop is made; increases the likelihood of successful prosecution | … police officers believe that enforcement is valued by the department | Officers should also be trained to detect impairment from substances other than alcohol |
| 9. | Using preliminary breath testing devices | Increases the probability of arrest once a stop is made; increases the likelihood of successful prosecution | … officers are properly trained in their use; can be administered to drivers stopped at random (where legal) or at sobriety checkpoints | Legal requirements for demanding tests must be met; costs to purchase and maintain devices |
| Curtailing Driving Privileges | ||||
| 10. | Administrative suspension and revocation of driver licenses | Reduces the likelihood that convicted drunk drivers will drive while intoxicated during periods of suspension; deters drivers through threatened loss of driving privileges | … jurisdiction has adequate resources to process cases; suspensions are routinely and promptly imposed by an administrative agency rather than by the courts | Most suspended or revoked drivers continue to drive; high volume of cases arising from operators who drive while suspended or revoked can drain criminal justice resources; the large number of suspended or revoked drivers can increase the volume of police pursuits if drivers attempt to avoid apprehension |
| 11. | Imposing graduated licensing systems for young drivers | Reduces opportunities for inexperienced drivers to drive under high-risk conditions | … legislation and enforcement is supported by parents | Creates hardships for young drivers and their parents |
| 12. | Impounding, immobilizing, or confiscating the vehicles of drunk drivers | Reduces opportunities for convicted drunk drivers to continue driving; deters drivers through threatened loss of driving privileges | … vehicle is actually impounded or immobilized; threats alone are an insufficient deterrent | High costs can be incurred impounding, immobilizing, and storing vehicles; third parties who depend on use of the vehicle are also penalized |
| 13. | Confiscating license plates from convicted drunk drivers | Increases the probability that a convicted driver will be stopped by police | … more widely used and publicized | Specially-marked license plates indicating the vehicle is likely being operated by a convicted drunk driver is a similar alternative |
| Sanctioning Convicted Drunk Drivers | ||||
| 14. | Requiring convicted drunk drivers to install electronic ignition locks on their vehicles | Prevents intoxicated drivers from operating their vehicles | … alternative sanctions are severe enough to persuade drivers to use the devices; drivers must periodically retest to keep the vehicle running; drivers cannot readily use other vehicles | Deterrent effect not likely to last beyond period when device is installed; minimizes inconvenience to others who are dependent upon the vehicle |
| 15. | Requiring convicted drunk drivers to complete alcohol assessment, counseling, or treatment programs | Reduces alcohol consumption of those convicted of drunk driving | … the treatment program is of high quality and demonstrated effectiveness | Not all drunk drivers benefit from these programs; program costs can be high |
| 16. | Confining convicted drivers to their homes | Reduces opportunities for offenders to continue driving; deters drivers through threatened loss of driving privileges | … monitoring is effective | Electronic monitoring is more efficient than personal monitoring |
| Monitoring Drunk Drivers | ||||
| 17. | Closely monitoring high-risk drunk drivers | Reduces opportunities for convicted drunk drivers to continue driving | … highest risk drivers are selected for intensive monitoring | Labor intensive |
| Reducing Alcohol Consumption | ||||
| 18. | Reducing the consumption of alcohol | Reduces intoxication levels of drivers, thereby reducing the risk of vehicle crashes | … reductions in consumption levels are substantial | Public support for measures to reduce consumption may be difficult to obtain in some jurisdictions |
| 19. | Suing alcohol beverage servers for serving intoxicated patrons who then drive and cause traffic injuries | Discourages serving intoxicated patrons, thereby reducing alcohol consumption | … plaintiffs prevail often enough so that alcohol beverage servers perceive their potential liability to be significant; liability results in actual costs to alcohol beverage servers | Some insurance companies cover full costs of liability; some alcohol beverage servers avoid liability by becoming judgment proof; social norms often work against intervening in the drinking habits of others |
| 20. | Training alcohol beverage servers to recognize signs of impairment and enforcing laws prohibiting serving impaired patrons | Reduces the alcohol consumption of potential drunk drivers | … reinforced by the owners of licensed establishments; reinforced by adequate enforcement of alcohol service laws | Mandatory programs have not been shown to be more effective than voluntary ones; compliance with training regulations may provide servers with a defense against liability |
| 21. | Enforcing laws prohibiting serving minors and intoxicated persons | Reduces alcohol consumption of potential drunk drivers | … enforcement is sufficient to create a significant perception of risk among servers; known problem establishments are targeted | Enforcement resources and priorities are often inadequate; enforcement efforts are often resisted by alcohol service industry |
| Public Education | ||||
| 22. | Discouraging drinking and driving through public education and awareness campaigns | Discourages drinkers from driving and drivers from drinking; builds public support for a wide range of drunk driving countermeasures | … education and awareness messages are carefully targeted to particular audiences | Can be costly to develop and run; difficult to measure effect on behavior |
| Alternative Transportation | ||||
| 23. | Providing alternative transportation options to drinking drivers | Reduces need for drinkers to drive | … transportation is provided to, from, and among drinking establishments so that drinkers are not compelled to leave their vehicles at a drinking establishment; costs to drinkers are reasonable | Transportation services can be costly to operate |
| Environmental Design | ||||
| 24. | Locating licensed establishments in areas that reduce the need for patrons to drive | Reduces the need for drinkers to drive | … the public understands and supports locating drinking establishments in certain areas | Less viable in rural areas where driving is almost unavoidable; the public may resist locating bars and taverns near residential areas |
| 25. | Relaxing or staggering mandatory bar closing times | Reduces the concentration of drunk drivers on the road; reduces excessive alcohol consumption at closing time | … bars and taverns are located where drinkers do not need to drive to reach them | Net effects not demonstrated conclusively |
| Responses With Limited Effectiveness | ||||
| 26. | Increasing the severity of penalties for drunk driving | Typically, certainty of apprehension is too low for severity of penalties to have much deterrent effect; if penalties exceed what police deem fair, they may be less willing to enforce drunk driving laws; raising the stakes of conviction often slows down the adjudication process, thereby undermining deterrence | ||
| 27. | Incarcerating convicted drunk drivers | Consumes scarce jail resources; threat of incarceration can be effective incentive for alternative sanctions | ||
| 28. | Fining convicted drunk drivers | High rates of failure to pay fines are typical | ||
| 29. | Recovering law enforcement costs from convicted drunk drivers | Effects not demonstrated conclusively; high rates of failure to pay are typical | ||
| 30. | Requiring drunk drivers to listen to victim impact panels | Deterrent effect is short-lived; effectiveness heavily dependent upon skills of speakers, which is difficult to standardize | ||
| 31. | Prohibiting drive-up alcohol sales | Typically, alcohol can easily be purchased elsewhere | ||
| 32. | Providing driver education courses in high schools | Encourages more young people to get their licenses, which increases the risk of crashes | ||
Free Bound Copies of the Problem Guides
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Drunk Driving
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