In the last decade, substantial reductions have occurred in drinking and driving in the United States and throughout the industrialized world. While this progress is encouraging, the tragic toll of drinking and driving is still much too high, and there remains a group of persistent drinking drivers who do not appear to be deterred by the threat of social disapproval or legal punishment. Persistent drinking drivers represent an estimated 65 percent of fatally injured drinking drivers, or about 30-35 percent of drivers killed in the United States each year. More innovative measures must be taken to effect the behaviour of the persistent drinking driver. Obviously, there is no single solution that will bring this problem under control. However, there are definite, practical, cost effective steps that each state can take to deal with the persistent driver. These suggested strategies are based on the consensus of experts in the field who attended a Transportation Research Board Workshop in July 1994. This paper describes the range of strategies that can be implemented. These strategies are primarily aimed at making the threat of serious consequences more concrete for those who continue to drive without a license and at administratively separating the illegal drivers from the vehicles they continue to illegally drive. (A)
Abstract