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Drunk-Driving Recidivism: Predicting Factors from Arrest Context and Case Disposition
Jiang Yu, William R. Williford
Objective: Efforts were made to examine drinking-driving recidivism in relation to arrest context and subsequent case disposition. Three specific hypotheses were tested, regarding blood alcohol concentration, time of arrest and sanctions. Method: Complete 1989, 1990 and 1991 traffic ticket files from the New York State police were the baseline data for the study. Results: Analyses show that high recidivism rates tend to be among offenders whose alcohol tickets were not disposed in a timely manner and offenders who were able to avoid a conviction even though their tickets were disposed. Other factors, such as time of arrest and the BAG reading at the arrest, do not significantly predict drinking-driving recidivism. Conclusions: Findings indicate that, after drinking-driving laws have been dramatically reinforced, an important remaining task is to swiftly and effectively convict drinking-driving offenders. In addition, a legal mechanism should be established to monitor multiple offenders and offenders who actively delay or manipulate court processing. (J. Stud. Alcohol 56: 60-66, 1995)
