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Mapping Programs Target Alcohol-Impaired Driving

NCJ Number
223410
Journal
Geography & Public Safety Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: July 2008 Pages: 5-8
Author(s)
Tom Beretich
Date Published
July 2008
Length
4 pages
Annotation

This article describes DWI crash mapping as an effective tool for law enforcement agencies and public policy planners in reducing DWI deaths and injuries.

Abstract

Providing law enforcement agencies with visual tools to identify and analyze DWI hot spots can help agencies allocate resources and significantly influence traffic safety policy decisions. The DWI Resource Center in Albuquerque, NM (formed to reduce the social and economic impact of drunk driving) made advances in mapmaking methods creating new maps which examine DWI hot spots relative to overall accident hot spots and highlights how alcohol-involved crashes at different intersections contributed to total crash volume. The DWI crash maps help facilitate deployment decisions without providing so much statistical information that officers would find them difficult to use. They allow officers to use their experience to interpret the maps and create solutions. In New Mexico, these maps have helped law enforcement and policymakers craft data-based solutions to reduce DWI deaths and injuries. 3 figures and 7 notes