Countermeasures

The first six sections address alcohol-impaired driving and the last section deals specifically with drug-impaired driving. Countermeasures to reduce alcohol- and drug-impaired driving are listed in the table below, providing a rough estimate of each countermeasure’s effectiveness, use, cost, and time required for implementation. Effectiveness is shown using a five-star rating system.

• Countermeasures that receive  or  have been determined to be effective.
• Countermeasures that receive  are considered promising, and likely to be effective.
• Countermeasures that receive ✩ or ✩✩ have NOT been determined to be effective, either because there has been limited or no high-quality evidence (✩) or because effectiveness is still undetermined based on the available evidence (✩✩).

States, communities, and other organizations are encouraged to use  and especially  or  countermeasures. They should use caution in selecting ✩ or ✩✩ countermeasures, as conclusive evidence is not available to demonstrate the effectiveness of these countermeasures. If they decide to use a new or emerging countermeasure that has not yet been studied sufficiently to demonstrate that the countermeasure is effective, they are encouraged to evaluate the countermeasure.

Further details about the symbols and terms used are included after the table. Effectiveness, cost, and time to implement can vary substantially from State to State and community to community. Costs for many countermeasures are difficult to measure, so the summary terms are very approximate.

Each countermeasure to reduce alcohol- and drug-impaired driving is discussed individually. Full descriptions are included for , , and  countermeasures. Brief descriptions are included for ✩ and ✩✩ countermeasures. Further details about the ✩ and ✩✩ countermeasures are included in Appendix A1.

1. Deterrence: Laws

Countermeasure	Effectiveness	Cost	Use	Time
1.1 Administrative License Revocation or Suspension (ALR/ALS)		$$$	High	Medium
1.2 Open Container		$	High	Short
1.3 High-BAC Sanctions		$	Medium	Short
1.4 BAC Test Refusal Penalties		$	Unknown	Short
1.5 Alcohol-Impaired Driving Law Review	✩✩	$$	Unknown	Medium

 

2. Deterrence: Enforcement

Countermeasure	Effectiveness	Cost	Use	Time
2.1 Publicized Sobriety Checkpoints		$$$	Medium	Short
2.2 High-Visibility Saturation Patrols		$$	High	Short
2.3 Preliminary Breath Test Devices†		$$	High	Short
2.4 Passive Alcohol Sensors††		$$	Unknown	Short
2.5 Integrated Enforcement		$	Unknown	Short

† Proven for increasing arrests
†† Proven for detecting impaired drivers

 

3. Deterrence: Prosecution and Adjudication

Countermeasure	Effectiveness	Cost	Use	Time
3.1 DWI Courts†		$$$	Low	Medium
3.2 Limits on Diversion & Plea Agreements††		$	Medium	Short
3.3 Court Monitoring††		$	Low	Short
3.4 Sanctions	✩✩	Varies	Varies	Varies

† Proven for reducing recidivism
†† Proven for increasing conviction

 

4. Deterrence: DWI Offender Treatment, Monitoring, and Control

Countermeasure	Effectiveness	Cost	Use	Time
4.1 Alcohol Problem Assessment and Treatment		Varies	High	Varies
4.2 Alcohol Ignition Interlocks†		$$	Medium	Medium
4.3 Vehicle and License Plate Sanctions†		Varies	Medium	Medium
4.4 DWI Offender Monitoring†		$$$	Unknown	Varies
4.5 Lower BAC Limit for Repeat Offenders		$	Low	Short

† Proven for reducing recidivism

 

5. Prevention, Intervention, Communications and Outreach

Countermeasure	Effectiveness	Cost	Use	Time
5.1 Alcohol Screening and Brief intervention		$$	Medium	Short
5.2 Mass-Media Campaigns		$$$	High	Medium
5.3 Responsible Beverage Service	✩✩	$$	Medium	Medium
5.4 Alternative Transportation		$$	Unknown	Short
5.5 Designated Drivers	✩✩	$	Medium	Short

 

6. Underage Drinking and Drinking and Driving

Countermeasure	Effectiveness	Cost	Use	Time
6.1 Minimum Drinking Age 21 Laws		$$$	High	Low
6.2 Zero-Tolerance Law Enforcement		$	Unknown	Short
6.3 Alcohol Vendor Compliance Checks†		$$	Unknown	Short
6.4 Other Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 Law Enforcement		$$	Varies	Varies
6.5 Youth Programs	✩✩	Varies	High	Medium

† Proven for reducing sales to underage people

 

7. Drug-Impaired Driving

Countermeasure	Effectiveness	Cost	Use	Time
7.1 Enforcement of Drug-Impaired Driving		$$	Unknown	Short
7.2 Drug-Impaired-Driving Laws	✩	Unknown	Medium†	Short
7.3 Education Regarding Medication	✩	Unknown	Unknown	Long

† Use for drug per se laws

 

Effectiveness:
			Demonstrated to be effective by several high-quality evaluations with consistent results
			Demonstrated to be effective in certain situations
			Likely to be effective based on balance of evidence from high-quality evaluations or other sources
✩✩			Effectiveness still undetermined; different methods of implementing this countermeasure produce different results
✩			Limited or no high-quality evaluation evidence
Effectiveness is measured by reductions in crashes or injuries unless noted otherwise.   See individual countermeasure descriptions for information on effectiveness size and how effectiveness is measured.
Cost to implement:
$$$	Requires extensive new facilities, staff, equipment, or publicity, or makes heavy demands on current resources
$$	Requires some additional staff time, equipment, facilities, and/or publicity
$	Can be implemented with current staff, perhaps with training; limited costs for equipment or facilities
These estimates do not include the costs of enacting legislation or establishing policies.
Use:
High		More than two-thirds of the States, or a substantial majority of communities
Medium		One-third to two-thirds of States or communities
Low		Less than one-third of the States or communities
Unknown		Data not available
Time to implement:
Long		More than 1 year
Medium		More than 3 months but less than 1 year
Short		3 months or less
These estimates do not include the time required to enact legislation or establish policies.

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