Changes in Alcohol Use and Drinking and Driving Outcomes From Before Arrest for Driving Under the Influence to After Interlock Removal.

Background: Half of the offenders convicted of impaired driving in the United States are sentenced to install alcohol ignition interlock devices (IIDs), which prevent them from starting their vehicles if they have been drinking. No research has yet explored offenders' patterns of alcohol consumption and driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) from the time before the arrest to the time period after the IID is installed. This study aims to fill that gap in knowledge.

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of subsidized ridesharing as a drunk driving intervention in Columbus, OH.

Background: No economic evaluations exist of free or subsidized ridesharing services designed to reduce impaired driving.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects and economics of a 17-weekend program that provided rideshare coupons good for free one-way or round trips to/from the hospitality zones in Columbus, Ohio, coupled with a modest increase in enforcement and a media campaign that used messaging about enforcement to promote usage.

Methods: Web surveys of riders and intercept surveys of foot traffic in the hospitality zones yielded data on the reduction in driving after drinking and the change in alcohol consumption associated with coupon use.

Mandating Treatment Based on Interlock Performance: Evidence for Effectiveness.

Background: Vehicle alcohol ignition interlocks reduce alcohol-impaired driving recidivism while installed, but recidivism reduction does not continue after removal. It has been suggested that integrating alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment with interlock programs might extend the effectiveness of interlocks in reducing recidivism beyond their removal. This study evaluated the first implementation of a Florida policy mandating AUD treatment for driving under the influence (DUI) offenders on interlocks.

The effects of primary enforcement laws and fine levels on seat belt usage in the United States.

Background: Seat belt use in the United States increased from 11 percent in 1979 to 86 percent in 2012. Most of this increase has been attributed to seat belt laws, primary law upgrades, and highly visible enforcement. There has been less research on the effect of fines on seat belt usage.

Ethylglucuronide in hair is a top predictor of impaired driving recidivism, alcohol dependence, and a key marker of the highest BAC interlock tests.

Objectives: This study focuses on the predictive and comparative significance of ethyl glucuronide measured in head hair (hEtG) for estimating risks associated with alcohol-impaired driving offenders. Earlier work compared different alcohol biomarkers for estimating rates of failed blood alcohol concentration (BAC) tests logged during 8 months of interlock participation. These analyses evaluate the comparative performance of several alcohol markers including hEtG and other markers, past driver records, and psychometric assessment predictors for the detection of 4 criteria: new driving under the influence (DUI) recidivism, alcohol dependence, and interlock record variables including fail rates and maximal interlock BACs logged.