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