NCJ Number
80249
Date Published
1979
Length
32 pages
Annotation
Following a discussion of alcohol abuse and traditional drunk driving programs, this report describes the Alcohol Safety Action Projects (ASAP) established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the 1970's and evaluates their impact on drunk driver control.
Abstract
Although alcohol abuse is a major factor in many violent situations, little effort has been directed at alcohol abuse prevention. Traditional approaches to reduce drunk driving have focused on social drinkers, relying on mass media appeals and deterrence through the criminal justice system. These tactics had been ineffective. A total of 35 ASAP's were funded in local communities between 1970 and 1977 to promote an integrated systems approach to the drunk driving hazard and develop ways to identify problem drinkers and refer them to treatment agencies. This report explores problems in the criminal justice system that hindered efforts to control drunk driving prior to the ASAP program and discusses the relation of drinking patterns to alcohol-related crashes. A review of the ASAP system notes that these projects have increased drunk driving arrests through streamlined arrest procedures and the use of improved breath testing devices, developed more rapid and efficient methods of processing drunk driving cases in the courts, and referred more than a quarter of a million drunk drivers to education or treatment programs. Media presentations were developed to enlist public cooperation with ASAP operations rather than directly affect drunk driving behavior. Demonstrating the effectiveness of ASAP activities through scientific research techniques has been very difficult. The most reliable evaluation compared nighttime fatal crashes in 35 ASAP communities with 25 non-ASAP areas and found that 35 percent of the ASAP communities showed statistically significant decreases, while no control communities demonstrated any reductions. Attitudes of criminal justice and local government personnel toward the projects are described. An analysis of the costs and revenues of ASAP's emphasizes State programs which have proved that comprehensive drunk driving projects can pay their own way through fines levied on drunk drivers. Tables, figures, and 70 references are included.