One measure that has traditionally been used to better control drunk and other high-risk drivers has been to suspend or revoke their privilege to drive. However, because the driving privilege is so highly valued, an increasing number of new laws have been passed which prescribe license suspension / revocation as a punishment for a variety of offenses, including some completely unrelated to driving. This has created a diverse group of suspended / revoked drivers. Prior research has demonstrated that suspended / revoked drivers pose a significant traffic risk, but until now little has been known about whether, and if so how, this risk varies as a function of the reason for suspension / revocation. This study classifies suspended / revoked drivers into subgroups based on their reason for suspension / revocation, and then develops demographic and driving risk profiles for each group. Separate risk profiles are developed for the following traffic safety indicators, measured 3 years prior to the suspension / revocation action; 1) total crashes, 2) fatal / injury crashes, 3) total traffic convictions, and 4) total incidents (crashes + convictions). The findings clearly show that: 1) suspended / revoked drivers are a heterogeneous group, both demographically and in their driving behavior; 2) some suspended drivers, such as those suspended / revoked for a non-driving offense, have low traffic risks that are comparable to those of validly-licensed drivers, and; 3) all suspended groups have elevated crash and conviction rates, compared to validly-licensed drivers. The implications of these findings for current laws and policies targeting suspended / revoked drivers are discussed, and recommendations for improving these laws / policies are presented. (Author/publisher)
Abstract