Court Procedures for Identifying Problem Drinkers: Phase II

NHTSA - Behavioral Safety Researchhttps://doi.org/10.21949/15248401971PDFResearch PaperMortimer, R. G. (Rudolf G.)Filkins, Lyle D.Lower, J. S.University of Michigan. Highway Safety Research InstituteUnited States. National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationUnited States. National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationUnited StatesAlcohol abuseDrunk driversQuestionnairesInterviewingCourt operationsDOT-HS-800-631HSRI-71-120, HuF-11NTIS-PB209958FH-11-7615Final reportThis report summarizes the studies conducted in the first phase of the project and describes the tasks completed in the second phase. The court procedures manual developed in Phase I was reviewed by a panel of experts and subsequently revised. Three volumes were prepared describing the procedures to be used to identify the problem drinkers among drivers convicted of alcohol-related driving offenses, provide background information to the court worker, and describe the use of scoring keys to derive a diagnosis. The manual was used in five county alcohol safety programs in Michigan with a total of 69 drivers convicted of driving under the influence of liquor (DULL). The interviewers also made a separate diagnosis of problem drinking. There was good agreement between the interviewers' diagnoses and those obtained by use of the manual. The manual diagnosed 66% of the drivers as problem drinkers. The manual was also applied to 60 convicted drivers participating in a research program conducted by the University of Southern California in Santa Monica. Over 60% of these drivers were diagnosed as problem drinkers. Useful comments were obtained from the interviewers in both of these field trials of the manual.' The manual was further revised in format to better meet the operational needs of the users. Further field testing and validation are needed to ascertain the continuing effectiveness of the procedures incorporated in the manual. /Abstract from report summary page/129