ARE ALCOHOL SAFETY SCHOOLS EFFECTIVE?

Each year thousands of persons convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) are sentenced to short term educational courses directed at modifying their drinking driving behavior. Do such courses really affect drunk driving recidivism? Issues such as this were the subject of an evaluation of North Carolina's Alcohol and Drug Education Traffic Schools (ADETS). In 1980 and 1981, 33825 first time DUI convictees attended and completed the school (the study group) while 16429 did not (the comparison group). The driving performance of these two groups is compared controlling for other variables on which they differed and which were related to DUI recidivism such as age, race and BAC at the time of initial arrest. Adjusted cumulative quarterly recidivism rates on a number of outcome measures were computed for each of the groups. Several different time frames were examined and the experience of the two groups contrasted. For all outcome measures studied and for all time frames examined, the groups attending ADETS, which were less likely to receive active license suspensions, fared worse. The results were highly statistically significant. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 287637. (TRRL)

• Corporate Authors:

  American Association for Automotive Medicine

  40 2nd Avenue
  Arlington Heights, IL  United States  60005
• Authors:
  • Lederhaus Popkin, C
  • Lacey, J H
  • Stewart, J R
• Conference:
  • 29TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR AUTOMOTIVE MEDICINE
  • Location: WASHINGTON D.C., United States
  • Date: 1985-10-7 to 1985-10-9
• Publication Date: 1985

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 45-57
• Monograph Title: PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR AUTOMOTIVE MEDICINE, WASHINGTON DC, OCTOBER 7-9, 1985

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Conferences; Drunk driving; Education; Measures of effectiveness; Recidivism
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness
• Old TRIS Terms: Behavioral objectives
• ITRD Terms: 1757: Age; 2267: Attitude (psychol); 8525: Conference; 2292: Driver rehabilitation; 1855: Driving (veh); 2231: Drunkenness; 5911: Efficiency; 6473: Mathematical model; 9048: Modification; 1502: Penalty; 1519: Recidivist; 101: School; 8122: USA
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00466726
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 31 1988 12:00AM