NCJ Number
89671
Date Published
1982
Length
149 pages
Annotation
Deterrent strategies may be effective in reducing drinking and driving in the short run. However, such methods do not seem to permanently decrease motor vehicle crashes associated with drinking.
Abstract
The book reviews deterrence-oriented legal innovations aimed at reducing drinking and driving. It explains deterrence theory, noting that the model of simple deterrence proposes that a legal threat of punishment is influential in preventing threatened behavior to the extent that the punishment is perceived to follow commission of the illegal act certainly, severely, and swiftly. One chapter suggests that careful analysis of specific interventions provides a promising avenue for research and discusses problems in attempting to measure deterrent effectiveness. Specific types of official intervention aimed at the deterrence of drinking and driving are reviewed, including adoption of a so-called Scandinavian-type law, strict enforcement of drinking-and-driving laws, and increasing the severity of the legal threat of punishment, either through formal laws or informal changes in the application of prescribed sanctions. The final chapter summarizes the lessons of evaluative research on drinking and driving. Tables, figures, an index, and about 135 references are provided. (Author summary modified)