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Drunk Driving (From National Victim Assistance Academy, P 13.1 - 13.21, 2000, Anne Seymour, Morna Murray, eds. et al., -- See NCJ 184052)

NCJ Number
184070
Author(s)
Janice Lord; Stephanie Frogge
Date Published
2000
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This chapter considers victim assistance, prevention programs, and aggressive public policy regarding drunk driving.
Abstract
Before the 1980s, drunk driving was considered unfortunate but socially acceptable. Victims were thought to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, unable to avoid what were considered “accidents.” With the advent of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other grassroots victim groups, crash victims are no longer simply an amorphous mass of statistics. They have names, and faces and their tragedies are rightly considered crimes. A combination of victim assistance, prevention programs, and aggressive public policy has resulted in a 40-percent drop in drunk driving deaths since 1980. The chapter discusses grassroots efforts that led to a nationwide movement against drunk driving; the impact of drunk driving on the victim; current research on drunk driving crash victims; suggestions for drunk driving victim services; and promising practices in drunk driving public policy and public awareness. In addition to a statistical overview of drunk driving, the chapter also presents statistics on alcohol and youth and alcohol and crime. References