Much of the progress that has been made in impaired driving in the last decade or more has been facilitated by lessons learned from other countries. It is therefore both timely and appropriate for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to sponsor a systematic effort to gather information about impaired driving laws from countries around the world. The intent of this effort is to contribute to our understanding of impaired driving countermeasures and of how the current situation in the United States compares to other countries. The primary purpose of this project is to provide comparisons with the United States, and therefore possible guidance in the development and implementation of impaired driving policies in this country. Therefore, the main focus of data collection was on countries that would be considered most directly comparable to the United States, economically and demographically, as well as those countries with which we have the most direct dealings. These countries include: Members of the European Union, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom Other western European countries, including Norway and Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, Other countries of possible interest were included as data were available. While many different laws are relevant to impaired driving, this project focused on several of the most important laws. These laws include: (i) Illegal blood alcohol content (BAC) levels for various classes of drivers; (ii) The minimum purchase age for alcohol; (iii) Age of driving licensure; (iv) Standard sanctions for first offences and multiple offences; (v) The imposition of more severe sanctions for drivers with higher BACs ; (vi) Graduated licensing systems; and (vii) Systems for the regranting of licenses. Most of the information for this report was gathered through inquiries from key informants identified in each of the countries of interest. Most informants were from government transportation agencies. Some informants were from relevant university departments. In some cased, available information was collected from other published or unpublished sources. Appendix A indicates the source(s) of information for each country. The results of the overview of laws indicate some of the major differences across countries and some of the contrasts between the United States and other countries. Major findings include: (a) The illegal BAC for most of the United States is higher than for any of the other countries studied. (b) The minimum purchase age for alcohol is older in the United States than for almost all other countries studied. (c) Licensing age for most countries is some years older than the minimum purchase age for alcohol. (d) Sanctions in other countries tend to be based primarily on arrest BAC. The potential impact of international free trade agreements on laws and policies related to traffic safety must be considered in this context. Another important factor in international comparisons is the cultural differences reflected in public attitudes towards impaired driving and towards relevant laws. Analysis of the relationship between laws related to impaired driving and the proportion of alcohol-related crashes is a logical next step. This analysis must be undertaken with caution because of the complicated measurement issues inherent in reporting of alcohol involvement in traffic crashes. (Author/publisher)
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