NCJ Number
110737
Date Published
1985
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This second phase of an evaluation of North Carolina's Alcohol and Drug Education Traffic Schools (ADETS) confirms the finding of the first phase, but over a longer period, that drunk-driving recidivism by ADETS participants was higher than nonparticipants, probably due to the more stringent driver's license restrictions for nonparticipants.
Abstract
The ADETS, established in January 1980, is designed to increase participants' knowledge and awareness of alcohol's effects on driving by means of a 10-13 hour course. It is intended to produce attitudinal and behavioral changes that will reduce participants' drunk driving. The Safe Roads Act (SRA) of 1983 did away with the provisions which made attendance at ADETS a prerequisite for receiving a limited driving privilege and which also permitted those completing ADETS to receive full reinstatement of driving privileges after 6 months. This report reviews other recent ADETS-type evaluations, presents a followup analysis of groups identified in the original study, profiles the demography of ADETS recidivists, presents tables on the use of ADETS by the courts in each county, and reviews the current knowledge test in conjunction with an ADETS curriculum review. The study also examines the feasibility of comparing recidivism rates of persons who voluntarily attend ADETS prior to convictions compared to those sentenced to ADETS as part of their sanction. Results are reported from a mail survey of 500 recent graduates of the ADETS program. Over 4 years, the recidivism rate of ADETS graduates was greater than nongraduates prior to the SRA. Recidivism analyses in the next evaluation phase will be for the post-SRA period, when ADETS graduates will not be under less stringent license restrictions than nonparticipants. Chapter tables and figures.