This paper discusses the USA's experience of the effectiveness of administrative licence revocation (ALR) as a measure for reducing the incidence of drinking and driving. ALR allows an arresting officer to confiscate immediately the driving licence of a driver who is found to have an illegal blood alcohol level, or who refuses to be tested. The officer issues a temporary driving permit, usually for 30 days, to allow the driver a chance to appeal. If the driver does not appeal or if the appeal is not upheld, the offender loses his licence for a prescribed period. ALR was introduced to bypass the unsatisfactory results of the normal legal process, where it took up to about six months for a case of drunk driving to be tried, and where, even then, conviction was by no means certain. A study for the US Department of Justice shows that the 31 US States with ALR also have reduced recidivism rates among drunk driving offenders. The paper gives examples of evidence of ALR's feasibility and effectiveness, collected from several of these states. Although some concerns have been expressed about ALR, surveys have shown that most Americans favour this type of law. It has the following advantages: (1) it removes drunk drivers from roads; (2) it saves lives; (3) offenders do not lose their jobs, but just stop drinking and driving; (4) States can profit financially from ALR.
Abstract