NCJ Number
120074
Journal
Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall 1989) Pages: 35-41
Date Published
1989
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The problem of drunk driving cannot be solved by driver education programs which follow the behaviorist acculturation model; rather, the role of the license as a legal contract must be considered as a drunk driving deterrent.
Abstract
The author disputes the "right" or "privilege" concept of current driver licensing. He cites research indicating that high-school driver education is not firmly linked with reduced traffic violations or accident frequency. Behavior-conditioning techniques do little to lessen the drunk driving risk. Our current society, in concentrating on the moral aspects of alcoholism, ignores the fact that the heavy drinker or alcoholic is breaking the law when behind the wheel. The author reviews the empiricist and juridical conceptions of law relative to alcohol and driver licensing. He urges a change in licensing to emphasize the legal rather than the sociological dimension of social control to reduce drunk driving. 7 references.