Document Type

Technical Report

Publication Date

3-2008

Subjects

Drunk driving -- Oregon -- Portland -- Prevention, Drinking and traffic accidents -- Prevention, Drunk driving -- Prevention

Abstract

Driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII) applies to operating a vehicle under the influence of any substance that can impair driving performance. Nationally and locally there is a strong desire to reduce the societal impacts of this significant social problem. The trend in U.S. alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes was generally decreasing in the mid to late 1980’s but has remained fairly flat since the early 1990s. In 1982, approximately 60% of all US traffic fatalities were alcohol-related. By 1994, this had decreased to 43% but in the decade that followed it has changed little. In 2005, nearly 39% of fatal crashes still involved alcohol. This contrasts sharply with the trends in many other peer industrialized countries such as Australia which has seen a 60% drop in the total number of fatal alcohol-involved crashes since 1980. In most U.S. jurisdictions, the trend for alcohol-involved crashes mirrors the disappointing national trends and in some has even been slightly increasing. The reasons for these trends are many but can be found in changing demographics, reduced resources for enforcement, prosecution, and treatment as well as changing public behaviors and attitudes. The objective of this study was to identify tools, techniques and strategies that could help reverse this trend for the Portland metropolitan area. It is clear that the system to prevent, enforce, adjudicate, and treat alcohol related problems is complex and will require the cooperation and energy of many different stakeholders.

Description

This is the Final Report and was produced as part of the Community and School Traffic Safety Partnership.

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/15535

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