Repeat Drunk Drivers: Innovative Survey Reveals What Works

Washington, D.C. —  Marking the first time that offenders were asked what would make them stop driving drunk, The Century Council, a not-for-profit organization funded by America's leading distillers and dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking, announced results of a recent, innovative survey to fight one of the most dangerous sectors of the driving population: the hardcore drunk driver.

Ralph Blackman, President and CEO of The Century Council said, "Our recent survey is interesting and innovative in that we went straight to the drunk driving offenders to find out what they think and what would make them stop. We learned that if drunk drivers received more severe sanctions the first time they were arrested, they would be less likely to drive drunk again. The Century Council has been working to rid our nation's roads of drunk drivers, particularly hardcore drunk drivers, for over fifteen years. We believe this survey will assist law enforcement, judges, and policymakers in their efforts to stop drunk driving."

Seventy-six percent of respondents said, prior to their last DUI arrest, 1 year of mandatory jail time "definitely would have made me stop drinking and driving," and 75% responded that a mandatory fine of $10,000 would do the same. The potential of longer jail time and stiffer fines increased the likelihood that DUI offenders would not drive drunk again. Additionally, 70% of respondents said that ignition interlocks would be an effective deterrent. While compliance with ignition interlocks is often low, the threat of a heavy fine and mandatory jail time could increase the installation and use of ignition interlocks, thus making it an even more effective tool in the fight against hardcore drunk drivers. A majority of respondents said that court ordered assessments, mandatory treatment, and court ordered community service regardless of the duration were tactics that were not perceived to be a deterrent.

A majority of respondents (54%) said they would be "very likely" to change their behavior to avoid being arrested and convicted of subsequent drunk driving offenses if more severe sanctions had been applied after their first DUI conviction.

Overall the survey revealed that law enforcement and the judicial system are working. An overwhelming majority (95%) of DUI offenders believe it is likely you will be arrested if you are stopped for drunk driving; 75% believe arrest is very likely. Ninety-eight percent think it is likely a driver arrested for drunk driving will be convicted; 82% feel a drunk driving conviction is "very likely."

In an ironic twist, 80% of survey respondents said they worry about other drivers who might be driving drunk. This suggests that these drivers understand how dangerous their actions are and that there is a dire need to find effective ways to keep drunk drivers, like themselves, off the nation's roads.

Dr. Douglas Marlowe, Director of the Division on Law & Ethics Research at the Treatment Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania added: "The Century Council's most recent survey for The Hardcore Drunk Driver Research Project adds a unique and essential perspective by obtaining feedback directly from the offenders themselves who committed the crime. The findings have great potential for forging effective prevention techniques, clinical interventions, and policy solutions for the future."

Hardcore drunk drivers drive with a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.15 or above, do so repeatedly, as demonstrated by having more than one drunk driving arrest, and are highly resistant to changing their behavior despite previous sanctions, treatment, or education efforts. Hardcore drunk drivers are responsible for 59% of alcohol-related traffic fatalities and are 385 times more likely to be involved in a crash than a non-drinking driver. Drivers with BAC levels in excess of .15 are only one percent of all drivers on weekend nights; however, they are involved in nearly 50 percent of all fatal crashes during these times.

Respondents from the participating ten DUI Courts across the country had a self-reported average of 3 drunk driving arrests and 2.6 drunk driving convictions. The average blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level for these drivers was nearly 0.17, more than twice the legal limit.

The Century Council has played a leadership role in the identification of the hardcore drunk driver problem and continues to develop effective means to combat it. In 1997, The Council launched The National Hardcore Drunk Driving Project, a single, comprehensive resource to assist legislators, highway safety officials, law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors, community activists and treatment professionals to develop programs that advocate swift identification, certain punishment and effective treatment to reduce hardcore drunk driving.

In 2000 The National Coalition to Fight Hardcore Drunk Driving was formed as an initiative to combine the resources of organizations in this fight creating synergy in combating the hardcore drunk driver. The Coalition includes The Century Council, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and American Automobile Association (AAA). In 2004, working jointly with the National Association of State Judicial Educators (NASJE) and other judicial organizations, The Century Council released its Hardcore Drunk Driving Judicial Guide, a resource for judges and judicial educators to help address the complexities in courts of reducing drunk driving, in turn protecting the public from these dangerous offenders.