Subjects' Prior Driving Records

Cover Page

Technical Report

Technical Summary

Acknowledgements

List of Tables

Introduction

Study Sites

Observational Study

Focus Group Research

Conclusions

References

• Protocol
• Selection of Subjects
• Identification of Eligible Subjects
• Case Records
• Description of Subjects
• Subjects' Prior Driving Records
• Description of Current DWI/OWI Offense
• License Reinstatement and Subsequent Driving Record
• Results of Observations
• Travel During Suspension Period
• Travel During vs. After Suspension
• Factors Affecting Driving While Suspended
• Circumstances of Observed Travel'
• Case Examples

Table 3.2 summarizes the subjects' driving records prior to the current DWI/OWI arrest, based on the initial driver abstract obtained shortly after their DWI/OWI conviction. Traffic laws and regulations vary from state to state and, therefore, driver history abstracts from different states are not directly comparable. However, it is clear that a much larger percentage of the Milwaukee subjects had problematic driving histories.

Table 3.2: Observational Study Subjects: Driving Record Prior to DWI/OWI Arrest
	Percent of Subjects
	Milwaukee (n=57)	Bergen County (n=36)
License Penalty Points (Prior 5 Years)
None	29.8	50.0
1-5	12.3	25.0
6-10	17.5	16.7
11-20	19.3	8.4
> 21	21.1	0.0
Non-DWI/OWI Violations (Prior 5 Years)
None	28.1	44.4
1-3	35.1	47.2
4-6	14.0	8.3
> 7	22.9	0.0
Prior License Suspensions
None	33.3	83.3
1	14.0	5.6
2	7.0	8.3
> 3	45.7	2.8
Suspensions in Effect on Date of DWI/OWI Arrest
None	52.6	94.4
1	19.3	2.8
2	12.3	0.0
> 3	15.8	2.8
DWI/OWI Convictions > 10 Years Prior
Yes	8.8	0.0
No	91.2	100.0

Milwaukee subjects were much more likely than Bergen County subjects to have numerous penalty points and violations during the past five years. The subjects at the two sites also had very different profiles with regard to prior license suspensions. Six Bergen County

subjects (17 percent) had had at least one license suspension during the prior five years. In contrast, 38 subjects (67 percent) in Milwaukee had had at least one suspension in the past five years, and 26 subjects (46 percent) had had three or more suspensions.

The majority of the prior suspensions for Milwaukee subjects resulted from the failure to pay a fine or fee. Thirty-four subjects (60 percent) had received at least one prior suspension on this basis, and some subjects had multiple such suspensions. Eighteen subjects (32 percent) had received at least one suspension based on a poor driver record, for example, excessive penalty points or being judged a habitual traffic offender. Ten persons (18 percent) had received at least one suspension related to driving without a valid license, including operating while suspended or revoked, or without a valid registration.

In Bergen County, where 6 subjects had had at least one prior suspension (representing a total of 14 suspensions), 3 subjects (8 percent) had had at least one suspension for failure to pay a fine or fee, and 5 subjects (14 percent) had received at least one suspension for a poor driving record. One subject (3 percent) had received a suspension for driving without a valid license.

More than half the Milwaukee subjects were serving at least one license suspension when they were arrested for OWI. More than one-quarter were serving two or more suspensions. All of the subjects with current suspensions were to remain suspended for at least one year from the date of the current OWI arrest. For 2 Bergen County subjects (6 percent), the driver's license was already suspended when they were arrested for DWI. The termination date for these suspensions could not be determined from the driver abstracts.

Although persons were excluded from the observational study if they had had another DWI/OWI conviction within the past 10 years, 5 of the 57 Milwaukee subjects (9 percent) had had an OWI conviction more than 10 years ago. None of the Bergen County subjects had a prior DWI conviction on their driving record.