DRIVING RECORDS OF PERSONS CONVICTED OF DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL

• NCJ Number: 58561
• Journal: Journal of Studies on Alcohol Volume: 40 Issue: 1 Dated: (JANUARY 1979) Pages: 70-77
• Author(s): S A MAISTO; L C SOBELL; P F ZELHART; G J CONNORS; T COOPER
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): 5 T32 AA07072-02
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Agriculture
• Corporate Author: Rutgers University
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE REPORT DESCRIBES A RETROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF THE DRIVING RECORDS OF TWO SAMPLES OF TENNESSEE DRIVERS. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GROUPS MIGHT SUGGEST VARIABLES TO BE CONSIDERED IN DESIGNING PREVENTION PROGRAMS.

Abstract

FOR THE FIRST GROUP, DRIVING RECORDS OF 656 DRIVERS WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM THE ACTIVE FILES OF THE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND COVERED THE 65-MONTH PERIOD FROM NOVEMBER 1, 1970 THROUGH MARCH 1976. THESE RECORDS CONTAINED INFORMATION ON DRIVING HISTORY (E.G., CONVICTIONS OF VARIOUS TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS, TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS, AND DUI OFFENSES) AND LIMITED DEMOGRAPHY DATA. FOR THE SECOND GROUP, THE DRIVING RECORDS OF ALL PERSONS CONVICTED OF AT LEAST ONE OFFENSE FOR DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE (DUI) DURING THE 14-MONTH PERIOD FROM NOVEMBER 1970 THROUGH DECEMBER 1971 WERE ALSO OBTAINED FROM THE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY. ACCORDING TO DRIVER LICENSE NUMBER, EVERY FOURTH RECORD WAS CODED, YIELDING A SAMPLE OF 2,000 CASES. OF THESE 2,000 RECORDS, 1,982 HAD INFORMATION ON AT LEAST SOME OF THE VARIABLES STUDIED. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED WAS COMPARABLE TO THAT COLLECTED ON THE SAMPLE OF ALL TENNESSEE DRIVERS. DURING THE 65-MONTH PERIOD, ONLY 1.7 PERCENT (11 OF 655 VALID CASES) OF THE SAMPLE OF ALL TENNESSEE DRIVERS WERE CONVICTED OF A DUI OFFENSE AND 2 (0.3 PERCENT) WERE CONVICTED OF 2 OFFENSES. IN THE SAMPLE OF 1,982 DRIVERS HAVING AT LEAST 1 CONVICTION DURING THE FIRST 14 MONTHS OF THE STUDY, 77.35 PERCENT HAD 1 CONVICTION DURING THE ENTIRE 65-MONTH PERIOD, 17 PERCENT HAD 2, 3.94 PERCENT HAD 3, .96 PERCENT HAD 4, .55 PERCENT HAD 5, .15 PERCENT HAD 6, AND .05 PERCENT HAD 7. THUS, THE MAJORITY OF THE DRIVERS IN THE DUI SAMPLE DID NOT RECEIVE ANOTHER DUI CONVICTION DURING THE 65-MONTH PERIOD UNDER STUDY. THE DATA ON THE SAMPLE OF ALL TENNESSEE DRIVERS SUGGEST THAT THE PROBABILITY OF RECEIVING THE FIRST DUI CONVICTION IS LOW. HOWEVER, THE CONVICTION RATES OF THE DUI SAMPLE SUGGEST THAT THE PROBABILITY OF RECEIVING A SECOND DUI CONVICTION IS RELATIVELY HIGH. OF THIS SAMPLE, 22.65 PERCENT RECIDIVATED AT LEAST ONCE DURING THE 65-MONTH PERIOD. AS INDIVIDUALS RECEIVE ADDITIONAL DUI CONVICTIONS, THE AMOUNT OF TIME BETWEEN THESE CONVICTIONS DIMINISHES. THE DATA HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF PREVENTION PROGRAMS FOR DUI OFFENDERS. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (PRG)