Some American states, such as Michigan, have made causing a death while driving drunk (OUIL-Death) a felony. One consideration for enacting such laws is to deter the "most serious" drunken drivers. The research question presented in this scientific poster was: Do drivers convicted of OUIL-Death in Michigan differ from nonfelony drunken drivers on demographics, driving history, alcohol use or driving behaviours prior to crash or arrest? A secondary goal of the research was to determine if either group of drunken drivers differed from the general driving population in Michigan on demographics and driving history. The study results showed that people convicted of drunken driving, regardless of the severity, differed from the general driving population in Michigan on many variables. More importantly, there was little difference between people convicted of felony drunken driving and those convicted of lesser drunken driving charges, except that felony drunken drivers were driving more quickly, had more passengers in their vehicle (more chances of killing someone), and were driving on more familiar roadways. The results suggest that members of the nonfelony drunken driving population could easily become felony offenders but so far they have been fortunate enough to not be involved in an alcohol-involved-fatal crash. (A)
Abstract