Immediate License Suspension For Drunk Driving Saves 800 Lives Each Year
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Substance Abuse Policy Research Program has published a press release that provides evidence that immediate immediate suspension of the driver’s license for failing an alcohol breath test is an effective deterrent against drunk driving and saves 800 lives from fatal crashes each year. In contrast, laws that suspend licenses or impose fines or jail sentences after conviction have little noticeable deterrent effect.
Alexander C. Wagenaar, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida, College of Medicine, will publish research findings in the August 2007 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research that compared effects on fatal crashes of immediate suspensions with post-conviction suspensions of drivers’ licenses. The study investigated monthly fatal alcohol-related car crashes from January 1976 to December 2002 across 46 states that changed their laws on driving while intoxicated (DWI).
The press release quotes Professor Wagenaar:
“Laws that allow a police officer to immediately suspend the license of a driver who fails a breath test have a deterrent effect across the entire population. This effect can be seen among individuals who have had just one or two drinks, among those who may have had a 6-pack of beer, and among those who may have consumed a dozen or more drinks.”
The press release also provides statistics on drink driving that have important implications for workplace drug testing programs: 17% of U.S. adult drivers report driving after drinking each year and more than 17,000 individuals are killed in alcohol-related crashes per year.
The DaytaTree Team