ICADTS President Hans Laurell and Treasurer Wolf Nickel were the only two Overseas witnesses invited to give evidence to a British House of Lords European Communities Select Committee enquiry into Blood Alcohol Levels for Drivers. ICADTS Board Member Andrew Clayton acted as specialist adviser to the Committee. The report (HL Paper 82) is available from The Stationery Office (UKP16.70) or may be downloaded from the Web (excluding oral and written evidence). The URL is http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199798/ldselect/ldeucom/082xvi/ec1601.htm.
The key recommendations included: the need to apply a package of countermeasures; the identification of high BAC drivers and young drivers as key target groups; the improvement of the British High Risk Offender Scheme by incorporating many features of schemes operating in Germany and Sweden; the introduction of evidential roadside breath testing; and the reduction of the legal limit from .08 to .05. A House of Lords debate on the report can be found in Hansard, also available on the Web. See http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds98/text/80506-06.htm.
The British Government's period of consultation on proposed drink driving countermeasures ended on 8 May and its recommendations are expected to be published later in the year.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles recently released a study by David DeYoung: The Evaluation of the Specific Deterrent Effect of Vehicle Impoundment on Suspended, Revoked and Unlicensed Drivers in California. While license suspension/revocation has been shown to be effective, it is also known that most suspended/revoked (S/R) drivers violate their illegal driving status and continue to drive, accruing traffic convictions and becoming involved in crashes. In an attempt to strengthen license actions and to better control S/R and unlicensed drivers, California enacted two laws effective January 1995 which provide for the impoundment/forfeiture of vehicles driven by S/R and unlicensed drivers. The current study evaluates the impact of vehicle impoundment on the 1-year subsequent driving behavior of S/R and unlicensed drivers who are subject to it.
The results show that drivers with no prior convictions for driving while S/R or unlicensed whose vehicles are impounded have, relative to similar drivers whose vehicles were not impounded: 23.8% fewer driving while suspended (DWS) driving while unlicensed (DWU) convictions; 18.1% fewer traffic convictions, and; 24.7% fewer crashes. These group differences are even larger for repeat DWS/DWU offenders. Repeat offenders who are impounded have 34.2% fewer DWS/DWU convictions, 22.3% fewer traffic convictions and 37.6% fewer crashes. These findings provide strong support for impounding vehicles driven by S/R and unlicensed drivers.
Many people who drive with BACs (blood alcohol concentrations) above the legal limit go either undetected or unpunished. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sponsored a study to identify loopholes in the DWI enforcement system - to identify where and how these individuals slip through the cracks in the criminal justice system - and to recommend potential solutions to close those loopholes.
Mid-America Research Institute of Winchester, Massachusetts talked to law enforcement officers and prosecutors from several places across the country to get an overview of current BAC law enforcement methods and problems. Next they conducted case studies in three jurisdictions - Scottsdale, Arizona; Rockdale County, Georgia; and Palm Beach County, Florida-to document various enforcement strategies, and to see, first-hand, the problems that officers, prosecutors, judges, and others face in processing DWI offenders. The study examined the DWI enforcement process from on-road detection, through the arrest process, to court proceedings, and sanctioning. They also convened an expert panel of individuals with extensive experience in BAC law enforcement.
The good news is that BAC law enforcement is working quite well in some places and is functioning at an acceptable, if not optimal level, in most jurisdictions. The study identified a total of 28 significant problems in enforcing BAC limit laws and traced these to their most common causes. These problems degrade the ability of the police to find DWI suspects, confirm suspects as DWI, and process suspects more quickly. The problems also diminish the ability of prosecutors both to charge and to obtain DWI convictions, and the ability of judges to impose appropriate sanctions on persons convicted of DWI.
For each of the 28 areas that could be improved, there are recommendations that might help fix the loophole. Some recommendations are: 1) Expand training programs for police officers, prosecutors, judges, and administrative hearing officers; 2) Develop new modified procedures to catch, process, adjudicate, and sanction DWI offenders; 3) Use additional equipment, facilities, and personnel to help enforcement agencies; 4) Use additional funding to support the operation of these agencies; 5) Adopt new or modified laws on the conduct of criminal and administrative adjudication proceedings; 6) Focus public information programs to gain support of the operation of DWI enforcement agencies. For a copy of Problems and Solutions in DWI Enforcement Systems, write to NHTSA, NTS-31, Washington, DC 20590, Tel: 202-366-7096.
The Traffic Injury Research Foundation of Canada (TIRF) has a brochure available on the hard core drinking driver which summarizes the extent of the problem, research conducted and recommendations for dealing this major threat. TIRF concluded that hard core drinking drivers are the single most significant threat where alcohol and road casualties are concerned. They must become the priority in current efforts to reduce the consequences of drinking and driving. The tools used should be innovative legislative and administrative measures, most of which have been proven in a few jurisdictions. Many of these programs should be self-financing - the costs should not burden the tax payer but be borne directly by the offender.
On the basis of its findings, TIRF recommends that: 1) A tiered-BAC sentencing system be introduced in Canada to ensure hard core drinking drivers are dealt with appropriately; 2) There should be mandatory assessment for all offenders and treatment for those harmfully involved with alcohol; 3) Cost-effective alternatives to incarceration, such as home confinement and electronic monitoring using bracelets with radio frequency transmitters, be considered where warranted; 4) Police throughout Canada be empowered to suspend immediately the licenses of impaired drivers; 5) Police be empowered to seize at roadside, and impound, the vehicles of those driving while under suspension or prohibition; 6) All jurisdictions require installation of ignition interlock breath testing devices on the vehicles of repeat offenders as well as first-time offenders arrested with high BACs.
The preceding recommendations reflect what TIRF and many others view as the urgent action needed to reduce the threat posed by the single biggest drinking and driving challenge - hard core drinking drivers. TIRF concluded that although some may worry about increased police powers, it must be remembered that not only is drunk driving a crime, its consequences are frequently tragic. Hard core drinking drivers are a constant and serious threat. However, if governments treat the threat posed by these drivers with the urgency it demands, many lives, now at risk, will be saved. For copies of the research reports and related information, contact TIRF in Ottawa, at Tel: 613-238-5235, Fax: 613-238-5292, Email: TIRF@trafficinjuryresearch.com.
The behavioral cues used by police to identify impaired drivers were developed in the 1980's by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level of .10. As more and more states are lowering their BAC level to .08, NHTSA completed a revalidation of the cues at the lower level. The results are 24 driving cues that are good predictors of DWI at .08, with few changes from the earlier work. Police who observe drivers with these behaviors have sufficient grounds to make an impaired driving stop.
A technical report describes how 34 driving cues and 10 post-stop cues were identified from a comprehensive review of the low BAC literature, interviews with DWI experts from across the USA, a database of low BAC arrest reports, and two field studies. These behavioral cues were good predictors of DWI at .08, warranting further evaluation.
There are three publications available --The Detection of DWI at BACs Below .10, The Visual Detection of DWI Motorists, and a Training Videotape. Order them from NHTSA, NTS-21, Washington, DC 20590, Tel: 202-493-2062.
The enforcement community in Warsaw, Poland is complaining about the raising of the legal limit from 0.02% to 0.03% blood alcohol concentration. The limit of 0.03% BAC means a person could have two drinks within an hour and still legally be sober enough to drive. The Poles are alarmed about their skyrocketing alcohol crash rate.
The Polish economy has dramatically improved, thus, more people can afford automobiles. In fact, the Poles buy more new cars now than the more affluent Austrians, Swedes, and Swiss. These new drivers, many of them young, are driving on Europe's worst roadways. In one extended holiday weekend in August 1994, many alcohol-related automobile fatalities were recorded. For the first six months of 1997, alcohol crash fatalities increased 16%. That amounts to 666 deaths as compared to 572 fatalities in 1996.
If a breath test determines an individual is over the .03% limit, the offender's car can be towed away and the drunk driver is brought before an administrative hearing. The minimum license sanction is a six-month suspension. Fines can go as high as $1,500. The maximum sentence is a two-year license suspension in addition to the maximum fine. (Source: Impaired Driving Update, March/April 1998)
In response to numerous requests, the following is a listing of the BACs of a number of Eastern European countries: Bulgaria: .05 %, Fed. Rep. of Yugoslavia: .05 %, Croatia: .05 %, Macedonia: .05 %, Poland: .03 %, Romania: .00 %, Rep. of Slovakia: .00 %, Slovenia: .05 %, Czech Republic: .00 %, and Hungary: .00 % The information was obtained by ICADTS Treasurer Wolf Nickel courtesy of the German Automobile Association. The BACs for many other European countries was included in the Summer 1997 edition of the ICADTS Reporter, Vol. 8, No. 3.
Fatalities from drunken driving fell to their lowest level in over 20 years in 1997, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported on May 14. Overall accident deaths were down slightly from 42,065 in 1996 to 42,000 in 1997. The statistics showed that there were 16,520 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 1997, the lowest level since NHTSA's record keeping began in 1975. In percentage terms, 39.3 percent of the fatalities were alcohol-related, the first time that figure had fallen below 40 percent. In 1996, there were 17,126 alcohol-related fatalities, 40.9 percent of the total deaths.
It is becoming more commonplace to hear about drivers who were responsible for a crash but were driving while their license was suspended or revoked. Some state motor vehicle officials estimate that as many as 80 percent of drivers whose licenses are suspended or revoked continue to drive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that almost 6 percent of the nation's total fatalities can be attributed directly to suspended or revoked drivers. In California, the toll is even higher. Almost 12 percent of that state's fatal crashes are caused by drivers whose licenses were sanctioned.
So, why are they still driving? Officers call this an invisible traffic violation. It's an undetectable offense. Unlike speeding or driving while impaired, a person who gets behind the wheel with a suspended or revoked license does not give an officer any clues of their violation. One NHTSA study found that drivers said their chances of being caught were remote, so they attempted to drive more carefully during the period of suspension. Only if the vehicle is stopped for some other reason will the driver's license be found to be suspended or revoked.
To combat this problem, The National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) reviewed a number of promising programs currently used by law enforcement agencies across the country. Guidelines for a Suspended or Revoked Operator Enforcement Programs summarizes the best of these programs, and gives a step-by-step approach other law enforcement agencies can use to stop offenders in their areas.
The report outlines programs in Ohio, Florida, West Virginia and Utah that used Hot Sheets that targeted flagrant abusers and programs in Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Ohio and New Mexico that where aimed at the vehicle rather than the driver.
For a copy of the report contact NHTSA, NTS-21, Washington, DC 20590, Fax: 202-493-2062.
ICADTS member John Yu and Robin W. Shacket summarized a New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) report entitled, A 15-Year Review of Drinking Age Laws: Preliminary Findings of the 1996 New York State Youth Alcohol Survey. The following is excerpted from that summary.
By mid-1988, all states and the District of Columbia had passed legislation which raised their drinking age to 21. Due to this universal drinking age law, traffic safety has greatly improved throughout the nation. From 1983 to 1994, there was a 27% decline nationwide in the fatal crash rate in which at least one person involved in the crash was intoxicated. Furthermore, NHTSA reported a 53% decrease nationally in the rate of 16- to 20-year-old drivers involved in alcohol-related fatal crashes between 1983 and 1994.
Overall, the 21-year drinking age laws have reduced traffic fatalities involving 18- to 20-year-old drivers by approximately 13% nationwide. Consequently, thousands of lives have been saved. Despite these impressive results, few efforts have been directed at studying the long-term effect of drinking age laws. Thus, on the 10th anniversary of New York's 21-year drinking age law, the OASAS conducted it fifth Youth Alcohol Survey in 1996 to examine the long-term impact of the 21-year drinking age law on drunk driving and other alcohol-related behaviors among its state's youth.
Preliminary analysis of the 1996 survey, together with the four other surveys, suggests that both the 19 and 21-year drinking age laws had immediate and long-term impact on the purchase and use of alcohol and on drinking and driving activities by the targeted youth groups. A decade after its establishment, the effectiveness of the 21-year drinking age law continues. Alcohol purchases were down by 70% for 19- and 20-year-olds as compared to 1985. In addition, the prevalence of underage alcohol purchases in 1996 was at an all-time low since 1982. Immediately following the raise in drinking age to 21, alcohol use among 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds dropped by up to 25%. Ten years later, the decrease was even larger, up to 59%. Although the drinking age law did not particularly target the 16 and 17 age groups, their alcohol purchase and use rate also significantly declined between 1982 and 1996. Results of this study are consistent with findings from national studies, which reported that enforcing the drinking age law impacts alcohol consumption by minors and that raising he drinking age to 21 has been associated with a 13% decrease in the amount of alcohol that high school seniors reported drinking. These findings clearly show that continued enforcement of the 21-year drinking age law will maximize its effect in reducing underage purchase of alcohol and drinking and driving. The recent passage of the 'Zero Tolerance' law in New York and many other states provides additional leverage to enforce the 21-year drinking age law. Alcohol and other drug agencies, law enforcement agencies, and school communities should take this opportunity to work together to further reduce youths' risks of involvement in alcohol use and highway crashes. Contact Robin W. Shacket at 518-485-8211 in Albany for copy of the survey. (Source: Impaired Driving Update, January/February 1998)
July 26-29, 1998
24th International Forum on Traffic Records and Highway Information Systems-Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
For abstract and registration information, contact Creighton W. Miller, Accident Records, SSDDOT, 700 E. Broadway Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501-2586 USA, Tel: 605-773-4108, Fax: 605-773-4870, Email: creightonm@dot.state.sd.us. Web page: http://www.nsc.org/mem/htsd.htm.
August 30-September 4, 1998
The 42nd ICAA International Institute on the Prevention and Treatment of Dependencies-St. Julians, Malta.
For registration and abstract info., contact ICAA at Case Postale 189, CH-1001 Lausanne, Switzerland, Fax: 41-21-320-98-17.
September 21-23, 1998
9th International Conference-Road Safety in Europe- Bergisch Gladbach, Germany.
For information on attending and/or submitting an abstract, contact the Conference Secretariat, VTI, Box 426, S-581 95 Linköping, Sweden. Tel: 46-13-20-40-00, Fax: 46-13-12-61-62, Email: info@vutv.vti.se.
January 10-14, 1999
78th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Transportation Research Board - Washington, D.C., USA.
Contact Dr. Richard Pain, Tel: 202-334-2960, Fax: 202-334-2003.
May 24-27, 1999
16th World Congress of the International Association for Accident and Traffic Medicine-Chongquing, China.
For information about attending and/or submitting an abstract, contact the Secretariat of the 16th World Congress of IAATM, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping, Chongquing 400042, P.R. China, Tel/Fax: 86-23-68805645, Email: traumars@public.cta.cq.cn.
May 21-26, 2000
15th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, ICADTS Jubilee Conference-Stockholm, Sweden.
Contact the Conference Secretariat, c/o The Swedish National Road Administration, SE-781 87 Borlänge, Sweden, Tel: 46 243 75000, Fax: 46 243 75825, Email: t2000@vv.se. Also visit the T'2000 web site: http://www.vv.se/ts/t2000.htm.