| Introductory Letter |
#1: Prevention and Public Education
- Prevention
- Work with state, community and educational agencies and organizations to add impaired driving activity to their prevention efforts
- Develop or use existing materials and training programs for prevention activities
- Public Information and Education (PI&E)
- Have a plan and coordinator for all activities
- Develop PI&E materials or adapt federal and state materials
#2: Enforcement
- Secure the commitment of top-level police management, state and local government
- Provide state-of-the-art training for police officers and adequate equipment (including preliminary and evidential breath test, passive alcohol sensors and in-car videotaping)
- Deploy patrol resources effectively, including cooperative efforts of state and local police
- Conduct and publicize regular sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols
- Facilitate the arrest process; implement state-of-the-art post-arrest investigations
- Emphasize enforcement of youth impaired driving and drinking age laws
- Emphasize enforcement of impaired driving laws for commercial motor vehicle drivers
- Promote using passive alcohol sensors for zero tolerance and checkpoints
- Support community policing activities and law enforcement outreach to schools, civic groups, etc.
- Encourage law enforcement to publicize their activities within the community
#3: Prosecution, Adjudication and Treatment
- Prosecution
- Give impaired driving cases high priority
- Provide resources to effectively prosecute impaired driving cases
- Facilitate uniform and consistent prosecution while allowing for individualized sanctions
- Encourage state-of-the-art training for higher conviction rates, appropriate sanctions and community leadership
- Encourage vigorous prosecution of fatality and injury cases under impaired driving and general criminal statutes
- Ensure prosecutors are knowledgeable and prepared to prosecute youthful offenders
- Involve prosecutors in public education, information and prevention activities
- Involve prosecutors as community leaders and coalition builders
- Adjudication
- Facilitate uniform and consistent adjudication under the law
- Assure judges have educational opportunities for knowledge and skills to appropriately adjudicate; recommend similar training for administrative hearing officers
- Inform the judiciary about technical evidence presented in impaired driving cases, including SFST and DEC testimony and new technology applications
- Educate the judiciary in appropriate and effective sanctions for offenders including violators of commercial motor vehicle safety regulations as well as youthful offenders
- Include judges in community leadership roles, public education programs and prevention efforts without violating state statutes on judicial ethics; seek ways to include judges in community partnerships and coalition building
- Encourage judges to create innovative programs such as Teen Courts or Courtroom in the Classroom programs — and provide the necessary resources and support
- Support an effective parole and probation program to increase the accountability of the offender and the effectiveness of the court imposed sanctions
- Treatment
- Diagnosis and Screening evaluation should be:
- Required by law
- Conducted by qualified personnel prior to sentencing
- Used to decide whether a substance abuse treatment program should be part of the sanctions imposed
- Treatment and Rehabilitation should:
- Ensure that those referred for impaired driving offenses only be permitted to drive again when their substance abuse problems are under control
- Be conducted in addition to, not as a substitute for, license restrictions and other sanctions
- Be conducted separately for youth
- Diagnosis and Screening evaluation should be:
#4: Legislation
- Define impaired driving offenses
- Establish .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) as the blood alcohol level at or above which it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle ("illegal per se")
- Establish that driving under the influence of other drugs (whether illegal, prescription or over-the-counter) is unlawful and is treated similarly to driving under the influence of alcohol
- Establish vehicular homicide or causing personal injury while under the influence of alcohol as a separate offense
- Prohibit open alcoholic beverage containers and consumption of alcohol in motor vehicles
- Grant immunity for hospitals/personnel conducting/reporting BAC tests of drivers in cases of death or serious injury
- Establish a graduated driver licensing system for novice drivers
- Provide for effective enforcement
- Authorize law enforcement to conduct sobriety checkpoints; use a preliminary breath test
- Authorize law enforcement to request tests for impairing drugs other than alcohol
- Include implied consent provisions that permit the use of chemical tests
- Require mandatory BAC testing whenever there is probable cause
- Require license revocation/ suspension for persons refusing a chemical test
- Provide effective penalties for these offenses
- Require prompt and certain 90-day license revocation/suspension
- Provide for increasingly more severe penalties for repeat offenders
- Provide enhanced or additional sanctions for high BACs
- Provide stringent criminal penalties for serious offenses (vehicular homicide)
- Mandate special provisions for youth under 21 mandating driver's license suspension
- Establish victim assistance/restitution programs and require the use of a victim impact statement prior to sentencing in all impaired driving cases where death or serious injury occurred.
#5: Partnerships
- Advocacy Groups
- Establish public awareness campaigns in schools and communities highlighting the dangers and legal consequences of impaired driving and underage drinking
- Plan workshops/training events for criminal justice personnel
- Promote prevention efforts designed to reduce impaired driving and underage drinking
- Organize state/community task forces to assess problems, plans and implement action
- Support enforcement efforts to detect and arrest impaired drivers, underage drinkers or those providing alcohol illegally
- School Programs
- Implement K-12 traffic safety education (emphasis on impaired driving)
- Establish/support student safety clubs; create a network (National Organizations for Youth Safety) linking these groups
- Encourage higher education institutions to adopt policies to reduce alcohol, other drugs and traffic safety problems on college campuses
- Promote alcohol and drug-free events throughout the school year and high-risk times
- Coordinate anti-drug education programs with federal/national organizations
- Develop relationships with school health personnel to provide information to students
- Make effective use of criminal justice, medical or other professionals through presentations in the classroom or assembly programs
- Employer Programs
- Collect data and assess program to identify traffic safety problems, costs and issues
- Provide resources to address problems
- Implement policies for impaired driving and other traffic safety issues
- Train management to recognize and address alcohol and drug impairment
- Offer manager incentives to promote traffic safety and enforce policies
- Offer incentives to employees for compliance with policies
- Make education and treatment referral programs available for employees
- Develop employee awareness activities and conduct program evaluation
- Responsible Alcohol Service
- Implement and enforce initiatives to eliminate underage sale or service
- Promote alcohol server and service programs
- Ensure adequate alcohol control regulations
- Assure enforcement of alcohol beverage control regulations
- Set-up a display of responsible alcohol use and drinking and driving information
- Promote participation in designated driver, safe rides and other programs
- Publicize that commercial establishments may be held responsible for damages caused by any patron served alcohol when visibly or predictably intoxicated
- Public Health and Medical Organizations
- Include an impaired driving component in state and community health risk assessments
- Make available impaired driving-related data
- Offer screening and referral programs in conjunction with prosecutors and judges
- Encourage peer-to-peer educational efforts to public health and medical professionals
- Conduct public health and medical education about the impaired driving problem and their role
- Provide individual patient and public education for general public and high risk groups
- Obtain reports of blood alcohol concentration from emergency departments
- Participate in Safe Communities programs
- Elected Officials
- Include mayors, city managers and other officials in local partnerships, coalitions, prevention and public education programs
- Have city and county officials identify partners, resources, local problems and solutions
- Partner with state legislators in state/local programs as links to resources from national organizations
- Engage governors in any comprehensive program as essential leaders to gain access to national organizations; garner media support and the support of diverse groups
- Reach out to diverse populations
- Invite representatives to actively participate in program planning activities
- Establish working relationships with law enforcement, ethnic/racial groups, community representatives, etc.
- Develop and disseminate messages appropriate for the target audience
- Include representatives in message development and marketing
- Establish partnerships with organizations that are respected by target groups
# 6: Program Management
- Develop and implement an overall plan for all impaired driving activities
- Establish procedures to ensure that program activities are implemented as intended
- Encourage the development of Safe Community programs
- Establish data and records systems to adequately support state and local efforts
- Evaluate program activities regularly to gauge effectiveness
- Allocate appropriate funding resources
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