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Changes in the DUI Offender Population

The characteristics of the DUI offender population have been changing in response to stricter laws, such as zero-tolerance laws for underage drinkers (which set the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers younger than age 21 at 0.00 or 0.02 percent). The DUI offender population also reflects changes in the demographics of the general population (such as increasing ethnic diversity). Courts will need varied intervention options to meet the needs of this changing population.

Youth

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that in 1998, drivers ages 16-20 drove 12 million times within 2 hours of drinking (Hingson et al. 2004), and the average calculated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for this age group was 0.10 percent, or more than three times the estimated average BAC of drivers of all ages who drove after drinking (Hingson et al. 2004). After the advent of zero-tolerance laws, studies showed a 19-percent reduction in the proportion of underage drinkers who drove after any drinking, and a 23-percent reduction in driving after consuming five or more drinks (Hingson et al. 2004).

Even with the significant reduction in the proportion of underage drinking drivers, many young people continue to drink and drive (Hingson et al. 2004). With zero-tolerance laws, drinking-driving youth who might otherwise have avoided criminal sanctions can be mandated to treatment.

Few studies have examined the effectiveness of interventions specifically to reduce drinking and driving by adolescents; most studies have examined adolescent problem drinking. A recent review of strategies to reduce problem drinking among college students found that information-based and values-clarification programs were not effective, while some skills-based interventions (e.g., self-monitoring skills) did reduce alcohol consumption effectively (Larimer and Cronce 2002).

Although individually oriented interventions such as risk skills training, designed to help youth recognize and reduce risky behavior, as well as brief interventions, have been found to reduce adolescent drinking and driving, research is needed to determine the most effective treatment modalities for underage drinking-and-driving offenders mandated to treatment. Would mandated group interventions specifically targeted to adjudicated underage drinking drivers be more effective than mandated group interventions that include all age groups?

Programs that address important youth issues related to alcohol and drinking-and-driving behavior by young people in peer group settings may be efficacious. However, group modalities, often typical in interventions for first-time DUI offenders, may be counterproductive for groups consisting solely of adolescents. Studies have shown that putting adolescents who have high levels of a problem behavior together for group intervention actually can escalate the problem behavior (Poulin et al. 2001). On the other hand, underage offenders in a mixed-age group could recognize the difficulties experienced by older, chronic drinkers as negative consequences to avoid and could become more motivated to change their behavior. Definitive research is needed to resolve this issue.

Racial and Ethnic Diversity

Studies suggest that the environment of drinking, reasons for drinking, and levels of alcohol consumption vary for Hispanics, African Americans, and non-Hispanic Whites (Arroyo et al. 1998; Caetano and Raspberry 2001; Gil et al. 2004). Research is needed to determine if culturally specific mandated treatment would be more effective for ethnic and racial minorities and whether such treatment would be feasible and cost-effective. Appropriate interventions also are needed for non-English-speaking populations.

Multidrug Use

People often abuse alcohol along with other drugs, and driving while impaired as a result of multidrug use is becoming increasingly recognized as a major factor in vehicular crashes (Ogden and Moskowitz 2004). Determining whether a person has used psychoactive drugs such as cannabis, opioids, cocaine, and psychoactive medications in combination with alcohol is difficult logistically because it requires an analysis of body fluids (Ogden and Moskowitz 2004).

People who abuse both alcohol and other drugs often are treated in programs that are not specific to alcohol. Recent data suggest that approximately 36 percent of referrals to substance abuse treatment programs are the result of mandates from the criminal justice system (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] 2004), and some jurisdictions routinely offer treatment for offenders charged with substance-abuse-related crimes as an alternative to prison (Weisner et al. 2002). Research is needed to broaden the scope of mandated treatment for impaired driving to include interventions for multidrug users (McCarty 2004).

Integration of Treatment With New Technology and Specialized DUI Courts

New technological developments, such as alcohol ignition interlocks and electronic monitoring devices, which allow home detention and remote BAC monitoring (Voas 2004), may provide new sanctioning options that can be integrated effectively with more traditional intervention and treatment modalities to reduce DUI recidivism. For example, researchers are investigating the possibility of using BAC data from alcohol interlock systems to monitor offenders’ alcohol use as part of treatment (Voas 2004). Such data can be valuable to treatment providers, but making the information routinely available may require procedural changes. Technological monitoring would allow courts to set performance-based sanctions and treatment goals. Research shows that the breath test results recorded on interlocks predict future recidivism (Marques et al. 2003). Therefore, this objective record of drinking may be used to measure problem drinking status and provide a means for tailoring treatment to individual offenders and for improving the overall efficiency of mandated treatment.

DUI courts, which are patterned after specialized courts for drug offenders, offer extensive monitoring of DUI offenders’ driving behavior and alcohol use (Voas 2004). These programs, which currently are being evaluated, may offer an alternative to traditional adjudication strategies, depending on the outcome of the ongoing evaluations. Operating DUI courts can be expensive, and it will be important to determine if adopting new technologies such as remote electronic BAC monitoring can help reduce costs (Voas 2004).