4. Title and Subtitle
Connecticut’s 2003 Impaired-Driving High-Visibility Enforcement Campaign

5. Report Date
February 2007

6.  Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s)

 T.J. Zwicker, N. K. Chaudhary, S. Maloney, R. Squeglia

8. Performing Organization
Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address
Preusser Research Group, Inc.
7100 Main Street, Trumbull, CT  06611
and
CT Governor’s Highway Safety
2800 Berlin Turnpike, Newington, CT 06131

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.
NHTSA Contract DTNH22-98-D-45079

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street SW.
Washington, DC  20590

13. Type of Report and
Period Covered
Final Report
January 2003 – December 2004

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. Supplementary Notes

The Contracting Officer's Technical Representative for this project was Linda Cosgrove.

16. Abstract

In 2003, Connecticut initiated a publicity and enforcement campaign to reduce impaired driving and alcohol-related fatalities, particularly among men 21 to 34 years old.  The State spent nearly 4 million dollars on the campaign.  The campaign began during the July 4th holiday period, was sustained during the summer and fall, and peaked during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday period.  Statewide telephone surveys indicated that drivers reported significantly more often after the campaign that they had heard about impaired driving in Connecticut and had been through or knew someone who had been through a sobriety checkpoint.  Telephone surveys also indicated that more drivers thought State and local police were very strict about enforcing the laws against drinking and driving and that a driver who had been drinking was very likely to be stopped by police.  Patterns were similar for men 21 to 34 years old.  Roadside surveys of driver blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) indicated a significant decrease in the proportion of drivers with a positive BAC at the end of the campaign compared to the previous year.  In addition, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average analyses of the alcohol-related fatality trend for the State and for men 21 to 34 indicated that both rates decreased significantly, by an estimated 2.6 and 1.6 fewer fatalities each month.  The total lives saved amounted to 47 statewide and 29 for men 21 to 34 in the year and a half following the campaign’s start.

17. Key Word
Alcohol, Impaired-Driving Countermeasures, Publicity, Sobriety Checkpoints, Alcohol-Related Fatalities, DWI, BAC testing, High-Visibility Enforcement, DWI Enforcement

18. Distribution Statement
Document is available through the
National Technical Information Service
Springfield, VA  22161 www.nhtsa.dot.gov

19. Security Classif. (of this report)
Unclassified

20. Security Classif. (of this page)
Unclassified

21. No.
of Pages

22. Price