Targets of Opportunity: Community Based Alcohol Programs
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Summary
This 1988 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) technical report evaluates the "Targets of Opportunity" (TOP) program, a comprehensive, community-based initiative designed to reduce drinking and driving. Motivated by the view that traffic safety is primarily a local issue, NHTSA shifted from specific deterrence (sanctioning apprehended offenders) to general deterrence (deterring potential offenders through public information, education, and enforcement). The program aimed to catalyze local action, provide technical assistance, and demonstrate the efficacy of a systems approach integrating enforcement, prosecution, adjudication, and prevention. The study employed a case study design across ten diverse sites selected from NHTSA’s regional offices between 1982 and 1987. The sites included Wichita, Kansas; Spokane, Washington; Coconino and Yavapai counties, Arizona; Nassau County, New York; Springfield and Waukegan, Illinois; Miami-Dade County, Florida; Salt Lake County, Utah; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Lynn, Massachusetts; and the State of Delaware. Each site received $50,000 for evaluation, with countermeasure operations supported by state, local, and federal funds. The TOP model incorporated six elements: general deterrence, community focus, systems approach, financial self-sufficiency, citizen support, and long-term prevention. Evaluation techniques varied by site but generally included impact evaluations (crash data analysis), intermediate impact measures (attitude surveys), and administrative evaluations (arrest rates, program activities). The results indicated that all ten sites were successful, though direct comparison was deemed inappropriate due to site diversity. In 50% of the sites, statistically significant decreases in alcohol-related crashes, fatalities, or injuries were observed. Another 20% showed non-significant decreases. For instance, Wichita, Kansas, saw a 60% reduction in single-vehicle nighttime fatalities, while the State of Delaware reported significant drops in alcohol-related fatalities and accidents following new DUI laws. Administrative data showed increased DWI arrests and streamlined adjudication procedures across sites. Attitude surveys, conducted in 80% of the sites, revealed increased public awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving. In Spokane, Washington, the percentage of respondents admitting to driving after drinking dropped from 51% to 32%, while awareness of the problem rose from 72% to 89%. In Lynn, Massachusetts, self-reported driving after drinking decreased significantly, attributed to stricter penalties and personal circumstances. The report concludes that the TOP program successfully demonstrated that comprehensive, community-based general deterrence strategies can effectively reduce alcohol-related traffic crashes and shift societal attitudes. The diversity of the sites highlighted that there are multiple pathways to success, reinforcing the importance of local adaptation. The program’s emphasis on citizen support, financial self-sufficiency, and integrated systems provided a replicable model for other communities seeking to address drunk driving. The findings support the NHTSA’s objective of empowering local jurisdictions to manage traffic safety through coordinated, multi-faceted interventions rather than relying solely on federal or state mandates.
Key finding
In 50% of the ten targeted communities, the implementation of comprehensive community-based alcohol programs resulted in statistically significant decreases in alcohol-related crashes and fatalities.
Methodology
mixed_methods
Provenance
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
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| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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- Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation, policy recommendations