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The aim of the present study was to define the profile of a drunk driver and to determine risk factors for drunk driving by analyzing data on both sober and drunk drivers. Systematic roadside surveys have been carried out in Southern Finland for over 18 years, with 20,000-30,000 drivers breath tested annually. During the study period, 1241 drunk drivers were caught (legal blood alcohol limit 0.50%). The comparison material consisted of 3407 sober drivers. The surveys were designed to further investigate demographic features and driving habits of drivers. The prevalence of drunk driving has been 0.2% over the time period, with only random variations. According to the data, a typical drunk driver is a man aged 40-49 who has a valid driving license and drives his own car, usually alone, with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 1.0%. He has a job and is married or cohabiting. The profile remained consistent throughout the study period. The risk of drunk driving was found to be five times higher for men than for women. Divorcees and widow(er)s had a substantially higher risk factor for being caught drunk driving than married drivers. Drunk drivers are most likely to be caught by roadside testing on Saturday mornings. During the study period the blood alcohol limit for aggravated drunk driving was lowered in 1994 from 1.5 to 1.2%. In 2004 the taxation of alcohol beverages was reduced by 30%. Neither of these measures affected the prevalence of drunk driving or the mean BAC of drunk drivers (p = 0.63). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses policy essays on the challenges in screening convicted driving under influence (DUI) offenders published within the issue.

Judgments of whether a person is intoxicated by alcohol are important in a number of civil and law enforcement settings. This paper reviews how well people are able to make such judgments, the evidence for individual signs of intoxication, several structured rating techniques, and the use of sobriety tests. It is concluded that observers relying on common-sense clues of intoxication have limited ability to assess the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of strangers, particularly below .10%. This generalization holds across professions that might be expected to show greater accuracy. Structured assessment instruments based on observable signs have shown promise but are confounded by the wide variations between casual social drinkers and those that have obtained a high level of tolerance. Among sobriety tests, only NHTSA's Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) have substantial, but seriously flawed, research support. Assessing the sobriety of strangers in the low to moderate BAC ranges without resort to chemical tests remains a daunting task. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For various reasons, many people suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) are not apprehended sitting behind the wheel, but some time after the driving. This gives them the opportunity to claim they drank alcohol after the time of driving or after they were involved in a road-traffic crash. Alleged post-offence drinking is not easy for the prosecution to disprove, which often means that the DUIA charge is dropped or the person is acquitted if the case goes to trial. The routine practice of sampling and measuring the concentration of alcohol in blood (BAC) and urine (UAC) and calculating urine/blood ratios (UAC/BAC) and the changes in UAC between two successive voids furnishes useful information to support or challenge alleged drinking after driving. We present here a retrospective case series of DUIA offenders (N =40) in half of which there was supporting evidence of an after-drink (eye witness or police reports) and in the other half no such evidence existed apart from the suspect''s admission. When there was supporting evidence of an after-drink, the UAC/BAC ratio for the first void was close to or less than unity (mean 1.04, median 1.08, range 0.54–1.21) and the UAC increased by 0.21g/L (range 0.02–0.57) between the two voids. Without any supporting evidence of post-offence drinking the mean UAC/BAC ratio was 1.46 (range 1.35–1.93) for the first void, verifying that absorption and distribution of alcohol in all body fluids and tissues was complete. In these cases, the UAC between successive voids decreased by 0.25g/L on average (range 0.10–0.49), indicating the post-absorptive phase of the BAC curve. Long experience from investigating claims of post-offence drinking leads us to conclude that in the vast majority of cases this lacks any substance and is simply a last resort by DUIA offenders to evade justice. Unless supporting evidence exists (eye witness, police reports, etc.) of post-offence drinking the courts are encouraged to ignore this defence argument. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the study that examines the use of a computerized psychiatric assessment tool at a driving under the influence (DUI) testing facility in the U.S. According to the article, the utilization of the tool can help train medical practitioners on how to render reliable and valid measurements as well as adjust treatments. In addition, it states that despite the impediments to the adoption of the program, the researchers have made some modifications to counter the problem.

This article reports on the utilisation of aspects of defiance, deviance and deterrence theories to examine the self-reported offending behaviours and punishment experiences for a group of recidivist drink drivers (N = 166).The analysis indicated that the sample perceived their penalties as severe yet fair, but not entirely certain nor swift. Participants also reported they were treated fairly in court and received reasonable punishments compared t o others, but a considerable proportion reported low levels of respect for the law and questioned the government's legitimacy to control drink driving. Multivariate analysis revealed that factors from all three models were identified as predictors of reoffending (e.g., severity, government legitimacy and respect for the law), as well as for the frequency of drink driving in the past (e.g., certainty and severity of punishment, personal shame and respect for the law).The findings indicate that aspects of all three models are applicable to the examination of habitual reoffending, but a number of factors appear associated with a drink driving offence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For the purpose of evaluating their validity, survey-based synthetic estimates of problem-drinker prevalence in California's counties were correlated with social indicators of alcohol abuse. Prevalence estimates were predictive of automobile accidents and drunk-driving arrests but not of other problems. Data on drinking practices from a statewide survey provide more valid estimates than national survey data. Taking into account empirical and other factors impinging upon the validity of this prevalence formula, it is concluded that synthetic estimates provide a defensible but limited basis for estimating needs for alcoholism services in small areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a retrospective study to understand trends in drug-impaired driving among fatally injured drivers of New Mexico between the time period of 1995 and 2000. Overview of report given by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding the use of drug prior to driving; Account of the detection of drugs other than alcohol in blood and urine samples collected at autopsy of these drivers.

Focuses on intervals for the ratios of urine-alcohol concentration (UAC) to blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of ethanol in voids from apprehended drinking drivers. Highlights of urine and blood ratios for first and second voids in apprehended drinking drivers after correction for metabolism of ethanol between the blood and urine sampling times; Relation between UAC and BAC with alcohol burn-off rate.