Place Holder- Building Community Support for Impaired Driving Enforcement

NHTSA - Behavioral Safety Research2022PDFTech ReportMissouriUnited StatesDOT HS 813 338Impaired-driving traffic crashes affect communities negatively across the United States. Research has confirmed the effectiveness of high-visibility enforcement (HVE) in reducing impaired-driving fatalities. This report describes a demonstration project to increase community support for law enforcement efforts to reduce alcohol-impaired driving in Joplin, Missouri. The Joplin Police Department convened community representatives and organizations to develop a 15-month plan to raise community awareness and support for year-round DWI enforcement including enforcement, media, and public outreach. During the enforcement, overall crashes decreased, and impaired-driving crashes remained stable when compared to the immediate pre-enforcement period. Although there were documented successes, an independent evaluation of the program found that there was not enough program activity to increase community support for sustained impaired-driving law enforcement efforts.136