Do deterrence and social-control theories predict driving after drinking 15 years after a DWI conviction?

Proximity to the Southern Border and Sociodemographic Correlates of Drinking and Driving Arrests in California

BACKGROUND

About 30% of all motor vehicle fatalities in the United States are associated with alcohol-impaired motor vehicle crashes. Arrests for drinking and driving (Driving under the influence [DUI]) are 1 of the most important deterrence actions to minimize DUI. This paper examines trends and population-level correlates of drinking driving arrests (DUI) from 2005 to 2017 in California.

METHODS

Arrest data come from the Monthly Arrest and Citation Register compiled by the California Department of Justice. Sociodemographic and community characteristic data from the U.S. Census, alcohol outlet density, and distance to the U.S.-Mexico border from Law Enforcement Reporting Areas (LERA) centroids were aggregated at the level of 499 LERA contributing to the report. Reported arrest rates were related to area sociodemographic characteristics using hierarchical Bayesian Poisson space-time models.

RESULTS

Both among men and women rates showed an upward trend until 2008, decreasing after that year. DUI arrest rates were greater among Hispanics than Whites for the 2 younger age groups, 18 to 29 (p < 0.001) and 30 to 39 years (p < 0.001). DUI arrest rates in LERA areas are positively related to proximity to the California/Mexico border; a higher percent of bar/pub outlets; a higher percent of Hispanic population; a higher percent of population 18 to 29, 30 to 39, and 40 to 49 years of age; a higher percent of US-born population; a higher percent of population with annual income of $100,000 or more; a higher percent of population 150% below the federal poverty line; and a higher level of law-enforcement activities.

CONCLUSIONS

Results of this analysis of spatial correlates of DUI arrests overlap well with the literature on individual-level data and arrest rates. The decrease in arrest rates as distance to the California/Mexico border increases is potentially associated with the greater availability of alcohol in the border area.

Cultural and Social Predictors of Substance Abuse Recovery among American Indian and Non-American Indian Pregnant and Parenting Women

Substance abuse is especially undesirable among pregnant or parenting women (PPW). As such, there is a need to examine the factors impacting positive treatment outcomes, particularly among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) PPW, as they are seeking substance abuse treatment at rates considerably higher than the national average. This study aimed to identify the social and cultural mechanisms that support their recovery. Qualitative analyses were used to identify mechanisms used by AI and non-AI PPW in their recovery. Several differences between AI and non-AI PPW emerged. AI participants mentioned their families more often as the reason why they wanted to become or stay sober. In addition to familial support, AI participants relied on a variety of other sources for assistance in their recovery. Many of the women had difficulty defining specific aspects of their culture, especially in relation to their recovery. However, for AI PPW, many aspects of AI culture were identified as they described their recovery, suggesting the often subtle ways culture can impact everyday life. Our findings indicated that women utilized cultural supports in different ways; therefore, it is necessary to help them define their culture in ways that are meaningful in their recovery.

A Comparison of International Drunk-Driving Policies and the Role of Drinking Patterns

INTRODUCTION

Effective drunk-driving policies are not adopted consistently in many countries. To understand how drinking behaviors influence national drunk-driving policymaking, the associations between drunk-driving policies and country-level drinking volumes and patterns were examined.

METHODS

Data for 194 countries were obtained from the WHO 2012 Global Information System on Alcohol and Health. Country-level drinking behaviors were measured using average drinking volumes and patterns of drinking scores based on six attributes of risky drinking. Drunk-driving policies were categorized into preemptive measures (random breath testing, breath alcohol concentration limits for driving a vehicle, and sobriety checkpoints), penalties (community service, short- or long-term detention, fines, suspension or revocation of license, and vehicle impoundment), mandatory treatment, and ignition interlock. Data analysis was conducted in 2017. The percentages of each policy adoption were examined in countries with different drinking behaviors. The internal consistencies of preemptive measures were calculated using Cronbach's α. A structural equation model was established to examine the associations between drinking behaviors and drunk-driving policy categories, after adjusting for national income levels and general alcohol policies.

RESULTS

Mandatory treatment and preemptive measures were less commonly adopted than penalties were. The adoption of preemptive measures had a low consistency level, and the consistency level decreased with drinking pattern riskiness. Risky drinking patterns were negatively associated with mandatory treatment policy.

CONCLUSIONS

Drinking patterns are associated with national drunk-driving policymaking. Accessible medical treatment and comprehensive preemptive measures should be advocated in countries with risky drinking patterns.

Age, gender and deterrability: Are younger male drivers more likely to discount the future?

Utilizing the Classical Deterrence theory and Stafford and Warr's (1993) reconceptualized model of deterrence, the current study examined whether age, gender, and discounting the future tendencies influence perceptions of being apprehended for speeding offences. Licensed motorists (N=700; 57% female) in Queensland (Australia) were recruited to complete a self-report questionnaire that measured perceptual deterrence, speeding related behaviors and discounting the future tendencies. Data were analyzed utilizing descriptive, bivariate and multivariate regressions. Significant (albeit weak) positive correlations were found between age and perceptions of apprehension certainty. Males were significantly more likely to report higher incidences of speeding (including while avoiding detection) compared to females. In contrast, females were more likely to perceive high levels of apprehension certainty and consider impending penalties to be more severe. At a multivariate level, discounting the future tendencies (in addition to being male, reporting lower levels of perceptual severity and swiftness, and more instances of punishment avoidance) were predictive of lower perceptual certainty levels. This study is one of the first to reveal that being male and having a tendency to discount the consequences of the future may directly influence drivers' perceptual deterrence levels.

Bridging a historical gap: can changes in perceptions of law enforcement and social deterrence accelerate the prevention of drunk driving in low and middle-income countries?

Objectives:

The dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol/drugs (DWI) have been well established. Many countries have successfully reduced the incidence of DWI through effective law enforcement. We aim to explore the links between how law enforcement is perceived in cultures with different socioeconomic indicators. Our hypothesis is that social norms around definitions of what constitutes “right” vs. “deviant” behavior related to DWI directly contribute to the mode and success of law enforcement.

Methods:

Road safety professionals from six countries with different levels of DWI rates and enforcement strategies were interviewed regarding the expected local response to a case vignette. Sociodemographic, mortality, and economic indicators for each of these countries were extracted from different sources.

Results:

The professionals interviewed described a continuum ranging from unequivocal enforcement and punishment (Australia and Norway) to inconsistent enforcement and punishment with the presence of many legal loopholes (Mexico and Brazil). For the six countries, no apparent correlation was identified purely between alcohol consumption and road traffic mortality. However, there seems to be a correlation between the time period of initial DWI legislation and current gross national income, perceptions of local safety, satisfaction with the local environment, and trust in the national government. Higher levels of these scores are seen in nations in which DWI laws were implemented prior to the 1960s.

Conclusion:

Better performing countries seem to have achieved a level of societal agreement that DWI is deviant, generating social stigma against DWI that allows legislation to be enforced. Lessons learned from these countries could help developing countries reduce morbidity and mortality associated with DWI.

The law isn't everything: The impact of legal and non-legal sanctions on motorists' drink driving behaviors

INTRODUCTION

The effectiveness of drink driving countermeasures (such as sanctions) to deter motorists from driving over the legal limit is extremely important when considering the impact the offending behavior has on the community. However, questions remain regarding the extent that both legal and non-legal factors influence drink driving behaviors. This is of particular concern given that both factors are widely used as either sanctioning outcomes or in media campaigns designed to deter drivers (e.g., highlighting the physical risk of crashing).

METHOD

This paper reports on an examination of 1,253 Queensland motorists' perceptions of legal and non-legal drink driving sanctions and the corresponding deterrent impact of such perceptions on self-reported offending behavior. Participants volunteered to complete either an online or paper version of the questionnaire.

RESULTS

Encouragingly, quantitative analysis of the data revealed that participants' perceptions of both legal sanctions (e.g., certainty, severity and swiftness) as well as non-legal sanctions (e.g., fear of social, internal or physical harm) were relatively high, with perceptual certainty being the highest. Despite this, a key theme to emerge from the study was that approximately 25% of the sample admitted to drink driving at some point in time. Multivariate analyses revealed six significant predictors of drink driving, being: males, younger drivers, lower perceptions of the severity of sanctions, and less concern about the social, internal, and physical harms associated with the offense. However, a closer examination of the data revealed that the combined deterrence model was not very accurate at predicting drink driving behaviors (e.g., 21% of variance).

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

A range of non-legal deterrent factors have the potential to reduce the prevalence of drink driving although further research is required to determine how much exposure is required to produce a strong effect.

Legal consequences for alcohol-impaired drivers injured in motor vehicle collisions: A systematic review

The treatment of alcohol-impaired drivers injured in a motor vehicle collision (MVC) is a complex public health issue. We conducted a systematic review to describe the legal consequences for alcohol-impaired drivers injured in a MVC and taken to a hospital or trauma center. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL databases from inception until August 2014. We included studies that reported legal consequences including charges or convictions of injured drivers taken to a hospital or trauma center after a MVC with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeding the legal limit.Results Twenty-six studies met inclusion criteria; twenty studies were conducted in the USA, five in Canada, and one in Sweden. All were cohort studies (23 retrospective, 3 prospective) and included 11,409 patients overall. A total of 5,127 drivers had a BAC exceeding the legal limit, with legal consequences reported in 4937 cases. The median overall DUI/DWI conviction rate was 13% (range 0-85%). The median percentage of drivers with a previous conviction on their record for driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI) was 15.5% (range 6-40%). The median percentage of drivers convicted again for DUI/DWI during the study period was 3.5% (range 2-10%). Heterogeneity between study designs, legal jurisdictions, institutional procedures and policies for obtaining a legally admissible BAC measurement precluded a meta-analysis. Conclusions The majority of intoxicated drivers injured in MVCs and seen in the emergency department are never charged or convicted. A substantial proportion of injured intoxicated drivers had more than one conviction for DUI/DWI on their police record.

Investigation on deterrence effect of legal punishment measures on driving after drinking in Chongqing, China

OBJECTIVE

Driving after drinking is one of the main causes associated with road accidents in China. China has been concerned about this serious problem and updated the regulations of road traffic safety law about driving after drinking 3 times in the last 10 years to deter this offense. The deterrence effect of the current punishment measures implemented since January 2013 was studied in this article.

METHODS

Data applied in the study were collected by questionnaire surveys carried out in Chongqing, a city in southwest China. A total of 329 drivers participated in 3 rounds of the survey and a 5-point scale rating was applied in the investigation.

RESULTS

There was a slight difference between drivers' familiarity of the law regarding driving after drinking in April 2013 and April 2014. The perceived certainty of being caught for driving after drinking was higher in April 2013 than in April 2014 and it had a time-dependent decreasing tendency. Our investigations also show that license suspension is the most practical and effective measure and penalty points system ranks second. A monetary fine appears to be inefficient to achieve the desired effects.

CONCLUSIONS

The fourth edition of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, which took effect in January 2013 coinciding with the application of random breath testing and intensification of enforcement activity, is effective in deterring driving after drinking according to our investigation. More measures should be implemented to change the decreasing tendency of perceived certainty of being caught for driving after drinking. An increase in the monetary fine is suggested.

Random breath testing in Queensland and Western Australia: examination of how the random breath testing rate influences alcohol related traffic crash rates

In this paper we explore the relationship between monthly random breath testing (RBT) rates (per 1000 licensed drivers) and alcohol-related traffic crash (ARTC) rates over time, across two Australian states: Queensland and Western Australia. We analyse the RBT, ARTC and licensed driver rates across 12 years; however, due to administrative restrictions, we model ARTC rates against RBT rates for the period July 2004 to June 2009. The Queensland data reveals that the monthly ARTC rate is almost flat over the five year period. Based on the results of the analysis, an average of 5.5 ARTCs per 100,000 licensed drivers are observed across the study period. For the same period, the monthly rate of RBTs per 1000 licensed drivers is observed to be decreasing across the study with the results of the analysis revealing no significant variations in the data. The comparison between Western Australia and Queensland shows that Queensland's ARTC monthly percent change (MPC) is 0.014 compared to the MPC of 0.47 for Western Australia. While Queensland maintains a relatively flat ARTC rate, the ARTC rate in Western Australia is increasing. Our analysis reveals an inverse relationship between ARTC RBT rates, that for every 10% increase in the percentage of RBTs to licensed driver there is a 0.15 decrease in the rate of ARTCs per 100,000 licenced drivers. Moreover, in Western Australia, if the 2011 ratio of 1:2 (RBTs to annual number of licensed drivers) were to double to a ratio of 1:1, we estimate the number of monthly ARTCs would reduce by approximately 15. Based on these findings we believe that as the number of RBTs conducted increases the number of drivers willing to risk being detected for drinking driving decreases, because the perceived risk of being detected is considered greater. This is turn results in the number of ARTCs diminishing. The results of this study provide an important evidence base for policy decisions for RBT operations.

Convicted driving-while-impaired offenders' views on effectiveness of sanctions and treatment

In this article we analyze qualitative data from a multiple-method, longitudinal study drawn from 15-year follow-up interviews with a subsample of 82 individuals arrested for driving while intoxicated in a southwestern state (1989-1995). We explore reactions to the arrest and court-mandated sanctions, including legal punishments, mandated interventions, and/or participation in programs aimed at reducing recidivism. Key findings include experiencing certain negative emotional reactions to the arrest, reactions to being jailed, experiencing other court-related sanctions as deterring driving-while-intoxicated behavior, and generally negative opinions regarding court-mandated interventions. We discuss interviewees' complex perspectives on treatment and program participation and their effects on lessening recidivism, and we offer suggestions for reducing recidivism based on our findings.