Citation

Hause JM, Voas RB, Chavez E. Proc. Int. Counc. Alcohol Drugs Traffic Safety Conf. 1982; 1982: 104-113.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1982, The author(s) and the Council, Publisher International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The City of Stockton (California) was awarded a demonstration project by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to implement a systematic approach to the detection and apprehension of the drinking driver. Stockton's Increased D.U.I Enforcement Program began on January 1, 1976, and continued through March 30, 1979. The major objective of the project was to significantly reduce the number of alcohol-related vehicle accidents during the special enforcement hours of 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Ten police officers trained in the detection and apprehension of drinking drivers were assigned each weekend night during the enforcement hours from a pool of sixty-two potential officers. The NHTSA contract required the project evaluator (the University of Pacific) to conduct on-going voluntary roadside surveys to assess the impact of the DUI enforcement team on the drinking driver. A key evaluation measure of the DUI project was the amount of alcohol consumed by drivers on the city streets during the enforcement hours. It was hypothesized that if the presence of the DUI enforcement team was a deterrent to drinking and driving, then the average blood alcohol concentration of drivers would decrease. In order to test this hypothesis, data was obtained through voluntary roadside surveys conducted on one weekend night during the enforcement hours, each weekend of the month. This paper will describe the original roadside survey procedures and modifications resulting from problems encountered during the 42 month life of the survey.