Background The number of alcohol-related fatalities has remained nearly level since 1994. The alcohol-related fatality rate remained at 0.63 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for 2000 and 2001. NHTSA formed an Alcohol Integrated Project Team (IPT) to identify strategies or solutions that would have the greatest potential to reduce alcohol-related fatalities. The IPT determined that the success of the impaired driving national strategy is heavily dependent upon a system-wide approach at the State and community levels. This includes State infrastructure improvements, State legislation, and various programs. One infrastructure recommendation is that every State create or reinvigorate an office or committee to lead the program to reduce impaired driving. Such groups exist in many States, usually under the name, "DWI task force." NHTSA believes that a State impaired driving task force can be an effective tool for galvanizing State and local attention to the impaired driving problem; for identifying needed improvements to State laws and/or agency programs; and for providing political support for difficult and costly changes.

Objectives Determine goals of the respective State DWI task forces. Identify impaired driving programmatic tasks and functions that are performed by DWI task forces. Identify who (agency, personnel, etc.) performs similar tasks in States that do not have DWI task forces. Compare and contrast these task performance findings. Identify actual outcomes that have resulted from DWI task force efforts.

Proposed Approach Perform a comparative analysis of programmatic tasks and functions in States with and without DWI task forces. The comparison methodology will consist of documenting and describing the current State DWI task force situation/system through reviewing relevant documents; interviewing relevant persons; documenting improvements; and collecting pre and post-program data. The evaluation may require 2-3 years, depending on the extent of data collection.