Preventing alcohol-related convictions: the effect of a novel curriculum for first-time offenders on DUI recidivism.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether DUI offenders can better avoid future drinking and driving by controlling their vehicle usage rather than by controlling their drinking. METHODS: Using a randomized experimental post-test only design, 9,571 first-time DUI offenders were randomly assigned to receive one of two 12-hour educational programs: a traditional DUI curriculum or the PARC (Preventing Alcohol-Related Convictions) curriculum, which uses a novel theoretical approach to preventing DUI recidivism. Whereas traditional programs focus on participants controlling their drinking to avoid future drinking and driving, the PARC curriculum focuses on participants controlling their driving. Instead of trying to control alcohol consumption after driving to a drinking venue (previously found to be a flawed strategy), PARC teaches students to make a decision before leaving home not to drive to a drinking event, thus greatly limiting the possibility of drinking and driving. Driving records were obtained from the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles using driver's license numbers to assess DUI recidivism rates among the students in the PARC and Traditional curricula for the first year following program participation and again at 2 years post-intervention. RESULTS: Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that offenders receiving the PARC curriculum exhibited significantly lower 1-year and 2-year recidivism rates than those receiving the Traditional curriculum. The effect was consistent across two different measures of recidivism, and across gender, race, ethnicity, and location. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that the PARC educational approach may be more effective than the traditional approach in reducing DUI recidivism.

The impact of a novel educational curriculum for first-time DUI offenders on intermediate outcomes relevant to DUI recidivism.

The Preventing Alcohol-Related Convictions (PARC) program is a novel educational curriculum for first-time DUI offenders, with the ultimate goal of reducing DUI recidivism. It differs from traditional DUI education and prevention programs in that it does not suggest to DUI offenders that they must abstain from alcohol entirely or control their drinking to prevent a future DUI; rather, it teaches students to prevent a future DUI by not driving their cars to drinking events. Thus, the emphasis of the curriculum is on controlling driving rather than controlling drinking to avoid future DUI convictions. The implementation of the program is ongoing throughout the state of Florida. The current randomized study focused on intermediate outcomes relevant for DUI recidivism; specifically, individuals' readiness for change regarding drinking and driving, and their endorsement of a PARC planning and action approach (controlling driving) versus a traditional approach (controlling drinking). The current research demonstrated that the PARC program is effective in moving participants toward more readiness for change and toward a strategy of planning ahead to avoid driving to any venue in which drinking may occur. Future research will assess the ultimate effect on DUI recidivism.

Low-manpower checkpoints: can they provide effective DUI enforcement in small communities?

OBJECTIVE: Sobriety checkpoints can be effective in reducing alcohol-impaired driving. Checkpoints are underutilized, however, partially because police believe a large number of officers are required. This study evaluated the feasibility and impact of conducting small-scale checkpoints in rural communities. METHODS: Law enforcement agencies in two counties agreed to conduct weekly checkpoints for one year. Two nonadjacent counties did not undertake additional checkpoints. Evaluation included public-awareness surveys and roadside surveys (including blood alcohol concentration [BAC] measurements) of weekend nighttime drivers. RESULTS: Relative to drivers in the comparison counties, the proportion of drivers in the experimental counties with BACs >0.05% was 70% lower. Drivers surveyed at driver's license offices in the experimental counties after program implementation were more likely to report seeing or passing through a checkpoint and were more aware of publicity on driving under the influence (DUI) enforcement. CONCLUSIONS: Small rural communities can safely and effectively conduct low-staff sobriety checkpoints on a weekly basis. Such programs can be expected to result in large reductions in drivers operating at higher BACs.

Protecting you/protecting me: effects of an alcohol prevention and vehicle safety program on elementary students.

This paper describes an evaluation of Protecting You/Protecting Me (PY/PM), a classroom-based, alcohol-use prevention and vehicle safety program for elementary students in first through fifth grades developed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. PY/PM lessons and activities focus on teaching children about (I) their brains (why their brain is important, how their brain continues to develop throughout childhood and adolescence, what alcohol does to the developing brain, and why it is important to protect their brain); (2) vehicle safety (what to do to protect themselves should they ever ride with an impaired driver); and (3) life skills (decision making, stress management, and media literacy). Fourth- and fifth-grade students from schools in the fourth year of PY/PM implementation were surveyed. Results indicated that, relative to comparison students from matched schools, PY/PM students increased their knowledge of alcohol's effect on development; gained decision-making, stress-management, and vehicle safety skills; and demonstrated changes in attitudes toward underage alcohol use and its harm. Further, students retained lessons learned in previous years and their scores improved with increased exposure to PY/PM. In addition, the findings demonstrate that it is possible to design and implement a program that can improve young children's knowledge regarding alcohol and their developing brains, teach them skills to protect themselves in dangerous situations, increase already high antialcohol attitudes, and change perceptions of alcohol's harmfulness.