The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recognizes that impaired driving is a complicated issue that cannot be addressed with one solution. “Alcohol-impaired-driving1 fatalities are affected by several external factors, including geography, urbanization, road structure and conditions, and economic activity, as well as by a State’s laws and programs” (NHTSA, 2011, p. 1-2). Strategies that address impaired driving focus on educating people on dangers of driving impaired, keeping people from becoming too impaired to drive, preventing them from driving after drinking, stopping them while driving impaired, and keeping DUI offenders from repeating the behavior.
While many impaired-driving programs are implemented at the State level, NHTSA recognizes that the lack of resources and political challenges may make implementation of needed and effective legislation and programs difficult. In addition, States may find that some programs are effective in some communities but not others. This publication is intended to be a resource to help communities identify appropriate, effective, and promising strategies and legislation that can be implemented on a local level. It is not intended as a how-to-guide, but rather describes and provides examples of each strategy. Leaders and program managers within communities may find this useful in helping to jump start or reenergize their efforts to reduce impaired driving.
This publication is divided into three primary sections: (1) understanding a community’s impaired-driving problem, (2) strategies that reduce impaired driving, and (3) references and appendix.
