Court Intervention: Pre-sentence Investigation Techniques for Drinking/Driving Offenses. Participant’s Manual

NHTSA · 1980 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This 1980 participant’s manual, produced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), addresses the need for standardized pre-sentence investigation (PSI) techniques to handle drinking-driving offenses. Motivated by the Alcohol Safety Action Program (ASAP), the document aims to move away from traditional systems that treat all driving while intoxicated (DWI) offenders identically. Instead, it promotes a "systems approach" that distinguishes between "social drinkers" and "problem drinkers" to apply appropriate, differentiated sanctions, including education and rehabilitation, thereby improving court efficiency and reducing alcohol-related highway fatalities. The manual serves as a guide for a two-day seminar designed to train PSI personnel, primarily probation officers, in screening and diagnosis. It outlines a curriculum covering national statistics, the physiological effects of alcohol, and the responsibilities of court personnel. A central component is the instruction on using screening instruments, specifically the Comprehensive Psychiatric Interview for Problem Drinkers (CPIPD), to objectively assess offenders. The training includes practical applications such as role-playing interviews, scoring techniques, and report writing to facilitate accurate referrals to community health resources. The manual also reviews findings from the ASAP study across 35 sites, emphasizing the importance of coordinated enforcement, adjudication, and treatment programs. Key findings presented in the text highlight the disproportionate impact of problem drinkers on traffic safety. Statistics indicate that alcohol-impaired drivers are involved in 55 to 65 percent of single-car fatalities and approximately 50 percent of multiple-car fatalities. The manual asserts that about two-thirds of individuals arrested for DWI are identifiable as problem drinkers, who typically exhibit high blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 0.15 percent or higher. In contrast, social drinkers rarely achieve such high BACs. The text notes that the probability of causing a fatal crash increases dramatically with BAC, with drivers at 0.10 percent BAC being twelve times more likely to cause a fatal crash than average drivers. Furthermore, the manual critiques existing sanctions, noting that lecture-oriented DWI schools are ineffective for problem drinkers, who respond better to comprehensive therapy, while social drinkers may benefit from educational programs. The significance of this work lies in its recommendation for a structured screening, diagnosis, and referral system within the courts. By identifying problem drinkers early, courts can mandate appropriate rehabilitation rather than ineffective punitive measures, such as simple fines or license suspensions, which the manual describes as having uncertain or negligible effectiveness. The manual concludes that court-monitored rehabilitation programs, combined with accurate screening, can improve offender compliance and reduce recidivism. It advocates for streamlining court procedures to handle increased caseloads without adding judicial resources, thereby creating a more efficient and effective response to the drinking-driving problem.

Key finding

The manual establishes that problem drinkers constitute approximately two-thirds of DWI arrestees and require distinct screening and treatment interventions compared to social drinkers to effectively reduce recidivism.

Methodology

review

Provenance

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Topics

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• dui enforcement
• alcohol
• drowsy as impairment
• alcohol detection systems