RTSSC Research Reports
Report Details

Title:	Driver Drinking
Publication Date:	Nov 2007
Type:	Issue Brief

Abstract

Driver drinking is a prominent traffic safety concern in the Northern Rocky Mountain Region (NRMR) states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The NRMR is unique because of the rural nature of its driving environments, characterized by weather extremes, wide-open spaces and areas with sparse population. The federal government has had some success in enticing states to invest resources in occupant safety issues such as driver drinking, but occupant behavior continues to be somewhat of an enigma in the traffic safety mission. While the NRMR shares many traffic safety issues with urban areas, the policies, educational initiatives and enforcement activities for this region may benefit from considering local criteria for adapting or developing their own policies and initiatives. The region's states share several commonalities in traffic safety priorities, which offer great opportunities for peer-learning and leveraging of resources to more effectively address critical personal-safety and public-mobility issues such as driver drinking.