effectiveness of dl sanctions milton j. grosz, florida division of driver licenses richard e....

Effectiveness of DL Sanctions

Milton J. Grosz, Florida Division of Driver Licenses

Richard E. Zeller, Florida Highway Patrol

Donald F. Klein, Florida Division of Driver Licenses

Research funded by a NHTSA Highway Safety Grant through the Florida Department of Transportation, State Safety Office

Project number FT-01-24-10-01

Introduction

• Intended to study the effectiveness of driver license sanctions in improving driver behavior

• Sanctions include suspension and revocation

• Also education and treatment interventions

Introduction

• Currently, effectiveness is limited by a 30% conviction rate for driving on a suspended license

• Convince lawmakers to put more teeth in the law

• Encourage drivers to take the steps to get their licenses back

Database

• Driver history data are difficult to obtain for research purposes

• Kept in a transaction-based mainframe database

• Use is limited by the need to keep the driver license offices functioning

Database

• A snapshot of driver history data was downloaded to an SQL database on a Windows NT server

• Two years were used for this study

• A new snapshot will be added annually

Database

• Information is expunged from the driver history at various time intervals

• Snapshot will preserve information for use in future years

Database

• Downloaded information includes– Demographic information on the driver– Convictions– Suspensions, Revocations, and Cancellations– Beginning and ending dates of sanctions– Number of times a particular sanction has been

applied– Driver school and treatment information

Methodology

• Drivers divided into two groups– Those that completed all requirements and got a

new license– Those that continued to drive without a license

• Separate studies carried out for those with DUI convictions and those who were suspended, cancelled, or revoked

Methodology

• Convictions and crashes counted for periods before and after the sanctions

• Two groups were compared on their mean number of convictions and crashes

• Studies were conducted for convictions in 1997 and in 2000

Results

• For the suspended, cancelled, or revoked group in 1997– Those with suspensions resolved averaged 3.7

convictions and 0.5 crashes after sanctions– Unresolved had 6.3 convictions and 0.9 crashes

• In 2000:– Resolved: 3.5 convictions and 0.4 crashes– Unresolved: 3.8 convictions and 0.7 crashes

Results

• For those with revocations in 1997:– Resolved: 3.7 convictions and 0.5 crashes– Unresolved: 6.9 convictions and 0.9 crashes

• In 2000:– Resolved: 3.8 convictions and 0.5 crashes– Unresolved: 5.4 convictions and 0.7 crashes

Results

• For those with cancellations in 1997:– Resolved: 3.8 convictions and 0.5 crashes– Unresolved: 2.1 convictions and 0.3 crashes

• In 2000:– Resolved: 4.8 convictions and 0.7 crashes– Unresolved: 1.6 convictions and 0.2 crashes

Results

• DUI Suspensions in 1997:– Resolved: 2.4 convictions and 0.3 crashes– Unresolved: 5.1 convictions and 0.7 crashes

• In 2000:– Resolved: 1.9 convictions and 0.3 crashes– Unresolved: 3.6 convictions and 0.9 crashes

Results

• DUI Revocations in 1997:– Resolved: 2.5 convictions and 0.3 crashes– Unresolved: 4.8 convictions and 0.7 crashes

• In 2000:– Resolved: 2.2 convictions and 0.3 crashes– Unresolved: 2.9 convictions and 0.4 crashes

Conclusion

• Drivers who do not complete the actions to regain a license present a significantly higher risk on the highway

• Actions which encourage violators to complete education and treatment interventions improve driver behavior