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:
  https://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=1100
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/64759
• Corporate Authors:

  Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

  North Dakota State University
  1320 Albrecht Boulevard
  Fargo, ND  United States  581052

  North Dakota Department of Transportation

  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; Repeat offenders; 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