Showing papers on "Driving under the influence published in 1988"

Reduction in motor vehicle fatalities associated with an increase in the minimum drinking age.

Abstract: Motor vehicle injuries are responsible for nearly 40% of the deaths that occur among persons aged 15 through 24 years. Approximately half of these deaths involve drunk drivers. In response to the problem of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), some states raised their minimum drinking age, increased penalties for DUI, or both. Other states vigorously resisted federal pressure to increase their drinking age, and some researchers have questioned the utility of this approach. Tennessee increased penalties for DUI in 1982 and raised the drinking age to 21 years in 1984. Alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths declined by 33% among persons aged 15 through 18 years, probably because of publicity. Our results suggest that it may be particularly important to maintain continuous, high-profile anti-DUI programs within high schools. Alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths declined 38% among persons aged 19 through 20 years; this effect appears to be attributable to the increase in drinking age and to be durable despite decreased publicity.

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other amphetamine derivatives

Abstract: As various substances of abuse come under Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Schedule restrictions, slightly modified derivatives (designer drugs) replace them. A series of amphetamine derivatives are discussed in this presentation. Applicable analytical methods are presented. Details of cases handled by the office (hospital patients, driving while under the influence/driving under the influence of drugs [DWI/DUID], and medical examiner cases) are discussed.

Rearrest following residential treatment for repeat offender drunken drivers.

Abstract: Multiple offenders are at high risk for continued drunken driving. Massachusetts, therefore, mandated that individuals convicted of a second drunken driving offense either be committed for a minimum of 7 days in a house of correction or enter a 14-day residential alcoholism treatment program for second offenders. A 2-year follow-up study of arrest rates assessed the impact of the two sentencing options on subsequent arrests for driving under the influence of liquor (DUIL). The incarcerated sample (N = 190) was slightly younger, had more prior DUIL charges and exhibited greater criminality than those who entered treatment (N = 199). Offenders admitted to the 14-day program were significantly less likely to be rearrested for drunken driving (10 vs 20%). A summary odds ratio suggested that when adjusted for differences in prior arrests, the risk of rearrest was 1.9 times greater among incarcerated offenders. Although a 2-year follow-up is insufficient to assess the complete impact of the 14-day program, the ...

Long‐term Effectiveness of Probation, Short‐term Intervention and LAI Administration for Reducing DUI Recidivism

Abstract: Summary Driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) arrest records were checked for subjects participating in the Mississippi DUI Probation Follow-up project 6 to 9 years after project entry. The efficacy of short-term intervention, probation, and Life Activities Inventory (LAI) administration for reducing long-term DUI recidivism were evaluated using a logit analysis. A small but statistically significant effect of probation for reducing long-term recidivism was found for offenders classified both as low-risk and high-risk drinkers. However, an interaction effect of combining probation with short-term intervention, which was suggested by an earlier 2-year recidivism analysis, was not statistically significant after the longer tracking period. Administration of the LAI questionnaire was found to reduce recidivism only for offenders classified as low-risk, replicating findings after 2 years of recidivism tracking.

Arrests of women for driving under the influence

Abstract: Police records of arrests of women in Wichita, Kansas for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol for a 5-year period (1980-1984) were studied. The proportion of arrests of women increased from 10.6 to 14.5% of total arrested. Women in their 20s comprised the largest age group; single women were greatly overrepresented. More than one-half of the arrested women were employed outside the home; a substantial proportion (30.8%) were unemployed at the time of arrest. The average blood alcohol level of those tested was 183 mg/dl. Characteristics of arrestees are discussed in terms of changes in the social roles and expectations of women. Although time of arrest was similar to that of men (i.e., night), arrests of women were more evenly spread across the days of the week. Within the 5-year period, the rate of recidivism for DUI was 7.43%. The implications of arrest and recidivism patterns are discussed. A change in legal and arrest procedures was found to have the same effect on arrests of women as it had on those of men, suggesting that the changes did not produce differential treatment by police.

Arrests of women for driving under the influence

Abstract: Police records of arrests of women in Wichita, Kansas for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol for a 5-year period (1980-1984) were studied. The proportion of arrests of women increased from 10.6 to 14.5% of total arrested. Women in their 20s comprised the largest age group; single women were greatly overrepresented. More than one-half of the arrested women were employed outside the home; a substantial proportion (30.8%) were unemployed at the time of arrest. The average blood alcohol level of those tested was 183 mg/dl. Characteristics of arrestees are discussed in terms of changes in the social roles and expectations of women. Although time of arrest was similar to that of men (i.e., night), arrests of women were more evenly spread across the days of the week. Within the 5-year period, the rate of recidivism for DUI was 7.43%. The implications of arrest and recidivism patterns are discussed. A change in legal and arrest procedures was found to have the same effect on arrests of women as it had on those of men, suggesting that the changes did not produce differential treatment by police.

Gaseous detection system

Abstract: A gaseous detection system for detecting the existence of a certain gas and further the detection of a certain level or percentage of that certain gas within a certain environment. An example is use of the gas detection system in a motor vehicle to aid in determining when a driver of the motor vehicle may be driving under the influence of alcohol, and for providing an appropriate warning signal that may be viewed from the exterior of the motor vehicle. The system includes a sensor unit (214) for sensing ethanol in the atmospheric contents of the motor vehicle's interior, for example, a unit for providing an actuation signal in response to the sensing unit (214), and a signal unit (233) that generates a signal which can be utilized for many purposes, for example, causing at least some of the exterior lights on the motor vehicle to alternately flash on and off in a substantially non-standard pattern. The sensing unit (214) may also be coupled with a digital read-out device or the like to indicate the amount of blood alcohol content of a person for evidentiary or like purposes.

Evaluation of wide edgelines on two-lane rural roads (with discussions and closure)

Abstract: The effect of 8-in.-wide edgelines on the incidence of run-off-the-road (ROR) and related accidents was evaluated. The treatment locations consisted of three two-lane rural road sections totaling 60.7 miles. A before-and-after design with a comparison group and a check for comparability was used to analyze data. Five years of accident data, covering the 3 years before wide edgeline installation and the 2 years after installation, were used. It was concluded that there is no evidence to indicate that wide edgelines significantly affected the incidence of ROR and related accidents for any individual treatment location or for the locations combined. The related accidents include ROR accidents that involved driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, ROR accidents on curves, ROR accidents during darkness, and opposite-direction accidents.

Enforcement of drink-driving laws by use of "per se" legal alcohol limits: blood and/or breath concentration as evidence of impairment

Abstract: The use of punishable BAC limits has long been considered the most effective countermeasure to driver behaviour under the influence of alcohol (Ross, 1985; Ziporvn, 1985; Council on Scientific Affairs, 1985). Most developed nations enforce drinking-and-driving laws that rely on a definition of impairment in terms of the concentration of alcohol in a motorist's blood (BAC). Two basically different drink-driving statutes are in effect: (i) illegal per se limits of alcohol concentration in a specimen of blood, breath, or urine, and (ii) presumptive laws that merely presume guilt if the result of analysis is above the prescribed legal limit. Other information about the driving incident may be presented in evidence and can influence the outcome of the trial. An important distinction therefore stems from the fact that presumptive laws are rebuttable whereas per se statutes are not (Ziporvn, 1985). In practice, illegal per se laws are easier to enforce because they offer a clearcut definition of when an individual is breaking the law. The result of forensic analysis therefore becomes the sole deciding factor needed as evidence to gain a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The Law and Criminology of Drunk Driving

Abstract: Reliable information on patterns and frequency of drunk driving is difficult to obtain. The evidence suggests that driving under the influence is widespread-particularly among males. Today, a set of interrelated criminal laws, procedures, and administrative laws makes it easier to arrest, convict, and punish drunk drivers. Criminal investigation and law enforcement in drunk-driving cases have become simpler as impediments to apprehension, investigation, arrest, and conviction have been systematically removed. The effectiveness of the campaign against drunk driving has been difficult to assess because of the poor quality of data, the lack of carefully planned evaluations, and the difficulty in disentangling the effects of simultaneous intervention programs. Some drunk-driving campaigns seem to have short-term deterrent effects. Driver's license suspensions and revocations may play an incapacitative role. Alcohol treatment programs, however, do not appear to reduce recidivism among drunk drivers. Public edu...

Driving Under the Influence: The Impact of Legislative Reform on Court Sentencing Practices

Abstract: In 1982, California introduced a number of revisions into its Vehicle Code sections dealing with the prosecution and sentencing of defendants charged with driving under the influence of alcohol These revisions included redefining the relationship between blood alcohol concentration and criminal liability, constraints upon the plea-bargaining process, and an increase in the severity of penalties An assessment is offered, based upon a random sample of 2,091 cases from one California county, of the impact of legislative reform on court sentencing practices While the new law succeeded in eliminating “prior conviction” bargaining, the “reduction to reckless driving” form of bargaining, though initially substantially reduced, quickly rose again to prereform levels Contrary to expectations, trial rates increased and rates of conviction at trial decreased Problems of court congestion were exacerbated rather than relieved The impact of increased penalties has been substantial for some offenders and for other

Insanity Plea: Relationship To Victim and Defendents

Abstract: The results of this analogue study clearly indicate that subjects' attitudes toward defendants, as measured by the type of disposition selected are influenced by their relationship to either the victim or the defendant with the most liberal alternatives occurring when the defendant is a relative and the most harsh alternatives chose when the victim of the crime is a relative. Although the present study was concermed with the insanity plea, it seems probables that similar findings might also transpire when other controversial matters in the criminal justice system as investigated, such as probation, parole, and mandatory jail sentences for persons convicted of driving under the influence.

Effects of changes in availability of alcoholic beverages. social control of the drinking driver

Abstract: The hypothesis that there is a connection between overall alcohol consumption and harmful effects also implies that, other things being equal, if alcohol consumption increases in a population, the percentage of motor-venicle drivers driving under the influence of drink should increase accordingly. The results of the studies in this review do not however, seem to support this hypothesis. First, the reduced availability of alcohol during the period when the employees of the State Wine and Spirits Monopoly were on strike did not result in any demonstrable drop in the number of drunken drivers or in the number of road accidents. TAe closing of the liquor shops on Saturdays was not followed by a drop in the number of drunken drivers on Saturdays overnight to Sundays.

The evolution of defensive driving

Abstract: This article describes how over the past 24 years, the National Safety Council's Defensive Driving Course (DDC) has brought safe driving techniques to more than 20 million motorists. While remaining true to its original sound concepts, the program has evolved over the years to meet the changing needs of the driving public. The development of the DDC-4 program, put into general use in January 1988, is described. First started in 1964, DDC has evolved greatly. It is based on the belief that the driving environment can be controlled through education. There are DDC courses for drivers of automobiles, motorcycles, tractor-trailers, straight trucks, school buses, utility trucks, and others. There is a special DDC program for the mature driver. The programs are periodically revised and updated, including the instructor's manual, the student guide, and the audio-visual materials. Increased stress has been placed on 3 areas: occupant restraints; speeding; and driving under the influence.