Highly visible sobriety checkpoint programs have been shown to be an effective method of reducing alcohol-related driving crashes (Elder et al., 2002). However, the use of checkpoints is prohibited in 12 States, including Washington. These States have tested other alternatives, including highly visible saturation patrols. In November 2006, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) sponsored the Nighttime Emphasis Enforcement Team (NEET) pilot project in Snohomish County. The goal of the NEET pilot project was to reduce serious injuries and fatalities due to impaired driving through the deployment of a fully dedicated team of Washington State Patrol (WSP) troopers concentrating on nighttime enforcement of impaired driving. NEET troopers were not responsible for responding to calls for service. Rather, they were assigned exclusively to NEET teams. Over the initial 27 months of the pilot project, the NEET troopers made 1,975 arrests for driving under the influence (DUI). Although efforts were focused on impaired driving enforcement, the detachment also issued 2,338 speeding citations and 1,385 seat belt citations. Traffic fatalities decreased by 40.3% in Snohomish County between 2005 (the year before the detachment operations began) and 2008. In contrast, traffic fatalities decreased by 17.7% in the remaining counties in Washington from 2005 to 2008, and by 14.3% in the rest of the Nation. On July 1, 2010, the Target Zero Teams Project (TZTP) began, as a collaboration among WTSC, WSP and local law enforcement agencies, with the goal of deploying the NEET concept in the three largest counties in Washington State: King County, Pierce County, and Snohomish County (which had participated in the NEET project). The project was supported with approximately $4.5 million of carry-forward funds that were available to the State to address its impaired driving problem. In 2010, 51.2% of Washington State’s population lived in one of these three counties, and they accounted for 63.8% of the traffic fatalities in Washington State (NHTSA, 2012; U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). The label “Target Zero Teams” originates from Washington’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which is entitled “Target Zero” to reflect Washington’s goal of reducing traffic fatalities to zero by the year 2030, and which names impaired driving a top priority. The purpose of this research note is to describe the first year of the project and report the reduction in fatalities in the TZTP counties after its first 10 months of operation. (Author/publisher)
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