On june 23, 1983, maine implemented an automatic 1 year driver's licence suspension for any person under the age of 20 identified by police as driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above 0.02. Previously, teenagers and adults could legally drive with BACs up to 0.10 (about five drinks in an hour for a 150 lb person). five hundred 16 to 19-year-olds in maine and 500 in Massachussetts for comparison were interviewed in anonymous random digit dial telephone survey. They were asked about their own drinking and driving behaviour and traffic crash involvement prior to the law. Surveys of 1000 16 to 19-year-olds in each state annually for 2 post-law years asked identical questions to monitor post-law behaviour. Surveys of 1000 adults in each state in the pre and 2 post-law years asked similar questions for comparison. In the first post-law year over 1400 maine teenage licenses were suspended and over 1200 in the second year. After the law, only one half of Maine's 16 to 19-year-olds learned that it was illegal to drive after more than one drink and two-thirds still did not know that they could lose their licence if they drove after more than one drink. Maine teenagers who understand the law drove less often after drinking than other teenagers. Overall the frequency that maine teenagers drove after drinking declined significantly since the 0.02 law relative to massachusetts teens and adults in maine. During the first 2 post-law years teenage injury and fatal crashes in maine increased 4% relative to the pre-law year. That was significantly less than the 13% increase observed among adults. (A)
Samenvatting