| Popis: |
THE BRITISH ROAD SAFETY ACT, WHICH WENT INTO EFFECT IN OCTOBER 1967, AUTHORIZED THE POLICE TO SUBJECT DRIVERS TO A BREATH TEST FOR ALCOHOL PRIOR TO ARREST FOR A TRAFFIC VIOLATION OR FOR SUSPECTED INTOXICATION. INTERRUPTED TIME SERIES ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT BEGINNING IN THE SAME MONTH THE LEVEL OF THE TIME SERIES OF FATALITIES AND "SERIOUS CASUALTIES" WAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED, PARTICULARLY IN LATE NIGHT HOURS WHEN ALCOHOL IS MOST FREQUENTLY INVOLVED IN CRASHES. A STUDY OF A COUNTERMEASURES PROGRAM UNDERTAKEN BY THE AIR FORCE ON AN EXPERIMENTAL BASIS FOR ONE YEAR AT A SINGLE AIR BASE ALSO INDICATED THAT SUCH A PROGRAM COULD BE EFFECTIVE, AT LEAST WHERE WIDE ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL WAS FEASIBLE. THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE HAS LED SEVERAL U. S. JURISDICTIONS TO ADOPT PREARREST BREATH TESTING, AND CHICAGO DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1971 EXPERIMENTED WITH MANDATORY SEVEN-DAY JAIL TERMS FOR DRIVERS CONVICTED OF DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED. AT THE TIME, ILLINOIS DID NOT HAVE AN IMPLIED-CONSENT LAW, AND DURING THE EXPERIMENT NO ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO CHANGE THE METHOD OF DETECTING IMPAIRED DRIVERS BY POLICE. INTERRUPTED TIME SERIES ANALYSIS WAS MADE OF TRAFFIC-RELATED FATALITIES IN CHICAGO AND MILWAUKEE FOR THE PERIOD IN QUESTION. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE CHANGE IN MOTOR VEHICLE FATALITIES THAT OCCURRED DURING THE CHICAGO EXPERIMENT WAS ONLY A CHANCE VARIATION FROM THE FATALITY RATE OVER THE PRECEDING FIVE YEARS. HOWEVER, IN BOTH CITIES A DOWNWARD TREND IN TRAFFIC FATALITIES SET IN DURING 1969, WHICH HAS LED CHICAGO OFFICIALS TO CONCLUDE THAT CONTINUATION OF THIS TREND DURING THE CRACKDOWN WAS CAUSED BY THE STIFFER JAIL SENTENCES. THE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO THE ASSUMPTIONS AND STRUCTURE OF THE EXPERIMENT. |
