The 24/7 Sobriety Program's Effects on Impaired Drivers in North Dakota: 2014-2019
The 24/7 Sobriety Program is an intervention strategy mandating that alcohol-impaired driving offenders remain sober as a condition of bond or pre-trial release. The goal is to monitor the most at-risk offenders in North Dakota and require that these individuals remain sober in order to keep roadways safe from hazardous drivers. As a component of the program, offenders are required to submit to twice-a-day blood alcohol concentration tests, ankle bracelet monitoring, drug patches, or urinalysis as a monitoring technique. While a pilot phase included a 60-day and discretionary enrollment options for repeat Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offenders, the current standard is a minimum 360-day sentencing period for all repeat offenders in North Dakota and other early adaptor states. Stakeholder experiences and empirical evidence supported the program’s deterrent effects on DUI-related citations. If a program participant fails to remain sober while enrolled, the individual is sent directly to jail. This assessment sought to extend the earlier research into North Dakota’s experience as a promising program into a maturing program. The goal was to offer evidence-based knowledge for critical program aspects in the state’s continuous program improvement initiative. The focus areas were: (1) if positive deterrent effects were statistically evident during program enrollment; (2) if deterrent effects were sustained beyond program completion; (3) if deterrent effects were stronger among certain participant subpopulations; and, (4) if select factors were associated with greater likelihood for recidivism. Results show that participants significantly improve crash and citation metrics after enrolling in the program. Individuals participating in the program for a fourth-time offense have higher odds of relapsing into the alcohol impaired driving behavior. These individuals, termed high-risk in this study, may benefit from treatment alternatives as they may represent the North Dakota driver subpopulation that has issues with chronic alcohol abuse and self-control.
- Record URL:
- Record URL:
-
Corporate Authors:
Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
North Dakota State University
1320 Albrecht Boulevard
Fargo, ND United States 581052 Bismarck, ND United States 58505 -
Authors:
- Vachal, Kimberly
- Zhou, Yun
- Awasthi, Shantanu
- Kubas, Andrew
- Publication Date: 2022-9
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Edition: Final Report
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 46p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Alcohol tests; Drunk drivers; Recidivism; Recidivists; Safety programs; Trend (Statistics)
- Geographic Terms: North Dakota
- Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01863709
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: DP-312
- Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Nov 16 2022 9:46AM