An Evaluation of Washington State’s 1979 Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) Laws

Klingberg, Carl L.; O'Connell, J. P.; Salzberg, P. M.; Chadwick, J. R.; Paulsrude, Stephen P. · 1984 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report evaluates the effectiveness of Washington State’s 1979 Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) legislation, which introduced a "per se" BAC limit of .10%, mandatory jail sentences for first-time and repeat offenders, and required attendance at Alcohol Information Schools. The study, conducted by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, aimed to determine whether these stricter penalties served as effective general and specific deterrents to drunk driving. The research employed two primary methodologies. To assess general deterrence, researchers conducted a time-series analysis using the Ertel-Fowlkes method on monthly alcohol-related accident data from 41 cities and 15 counties between 1977 and 1982. This approach identified statistically significant turning points in accident trends relative to the law's implementation. To evaluate specific deterrence, the study compared recidivism rates among DWI offenders arrested before (1978–1979) and after (1980–1981) the law’s enforcement, using driver records from the Department of Licensing. A control group of non-DWI offenders was also analyzed to establish baseline violation and accident rates. The findings revealed a significant general deterrence effect, but only with a lag. While no immediate reduction in accidents occurred in the year following the law’s implementation, a 25% decrease in alcohol-related accidents was observed in 1981, approximately one year after a marked increase in arrests, convictions, and mandatory jail terms. Arrest data showed a sharp upward trend beginning in August 1979, prior to the mandatory jail provisions taking effect in January 1980, suggesting law enforcement anticipation of the new statutes. Conversely, the specific deterrence analysis found no evidence that the new laws reduced recidivism or accident involvement among convicted DWI offenders compared to pre-law offenders. The report suggests that deficiencies in the implementation system, such as inconsistent enforcement or judicial practices, may have limited the law’s ability to deter repeat offenses. The study concludes that while the 1979 DWI laws successfully reduced the overall incidence of alcohol-related accidents through general deterrence, they failed to prevent individual offenders from reoffending. The authors attribute the general deterrence success to the increased certainty and severity of punishment, which became evident only after enforcement activities intensified. The lack of specific deterrence highlights the complexity of altering individual behavior through punitive measures alone, implying that system-wide implementation flaws hindered the law’s full potential. These results underscore the importance of consistent enforcement and systemic coordination in achieving traffic safety goals.

Key finding

The implementation of Washington State's 1979 DWI laws resulted in a 25 percent decrease in alcohol-related accidents but failed to reduce recidivism among convicted offenders.

Methodology

mixed_methods

Provenance

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Topics

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• dui enforcement
• drowsy as impairment