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Effects of Maine's 1982 .02 Law to Reduce Teenage Driving After Drinking

NCJ Number
116880
Journal
Alcohol, Drugs and Driving Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-March 1989) Pages: 25-36
Author(s)
R Hingson; T Heeren; S Morelock
Date Published
1989
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Despite study limitations and implementation problems, this survey found reduced drunk driving and vehicular crashes among teens relative to adults in Maine after the State passed (June 23, 1983) a law that made it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above .02.
Abstract
Violation of this law brings an automatic 1-year driver's license suspension for any person under age 20. Previously teenagers and adults could legally drive with BAC's up to 0.10. To test the laws impact, 500 16-19 year-olds in Maine and 500 in Massachusetts were interviewed in a July 1983 anonymous random-digit dial telephone survey. They were asked about their own drinking and driving behavior and traffic crash involvement prior to the law. Annual surveys of 1,000 16-19 year-olds in each State for 3 post-law years asked identical questions to monitor post-law behavior. Surveys of 1,000 adults in each State in the pre- and post-law years asked similar questions for comparison. In the first post-law year, over 1,400 licenses of Maine teens were suspended, followed by 1,200 in the second year. After the law, only 40-50 percent of Maine's 16-19 year-olds learned that it was illegal to drive after more than one drink, and two-thirds did not know that they could lose their license if they drove after more than one drink. Maine teens who understood the law drove less often after drinking than other teens. Overall, the frequency that Maine teens reported driving after drinking and heavy drinking declined significantly after the .02 law relative to Massachusetts teens and Main adults. During the first 3 post-law years, the annual average of teen night fatal crashes in Maine was 20 percent lower relative to the 4 pre-law years. Adult night fatal crashes rose 2 percent over the same period. 3 tables, 7 figures, 8 references. (Author abstract modified)