Sex differences in the distribution of traffic law enforcement

All instances of formal traffic law enforcement during a two week period in Western Australia were categorized by type of offence and by the age and sex of the offender. A number of apparent anomalies in the distribution of law enforcement were discovered. In particular young men were overrepresented in the enforcement figures and women underrepresented, even after allowing for exposure.     

Effects of enforcement intensity on alcohol impaired driving crashes

Background

Research measuring levels of enforcement has investigated whether increases in police activities (e.g., checkpoints, driving-while-intoxicated [DWI] special patrols) above some baseline level are associated with reduced crashes and fatalities. Little research, however, has attempted to quantitatively measure enforcement efforts and relate different enforcement levels to specific levels of the prevalence of alcohol-impaired driving.

Objective

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of law-enforcement intensity in a sample of communities on the rate of crashes involving a drinking driver. We analyzed the influence of different enforcement strategies and measures: (1) specific deterrence – annual number of driving-under-the-influence (DUI) arrests per capita; (2) general deterrence – frequency of sobriety checkpoint operations; (3) highly visible traffic enforcement – annual number of traffic stops per capita; (4) enforcement presence – number of sworn officers per capita; and (5) overall traffic enforcement – the number of other traffic enforcement citations per capita (i.e., seat belt citations, speeding tickets, and other moving violations and warnings) in each community.

Methods

We took advantage of nationwide data on the local prevalence of impaired driving from the 2007 National Roadside Survey (NRS), measures of DUI enforcement activity provided by the police departments that participated in the 2007 NRS, and crashes from the General Estimates System (GES) in the same locations as the 2007 NRS. We analyzed the relationship between the intensity of enforcement and the prevalence of impaired driving crashes in 22–26 communities with complete data. Log-linear regressions were used throughout the study.

Results

A higher number of DUI arrests per 10,000 driving-aged population was associated with a lower ratio of drinking-driver crashes to non-drinking-driver crashes (p = 0.035) when controlling for the percentage of legally intoxicated drivers on the roads surveyed in the community from the 2007 NRS. Results indicate that a 10% increase in the DUI arrest rate is associated with a 1% reduction in the drinking driver crash rate. Similar results were obtained for an increase in the number of sworn officers per 10,000 driving-age population.

Discussion

While a higher DUI arrest rate was associated with a lower drinking-driver crash rate, sobriety checkpoints did not have a significant relationship to drinking-driver crashes. This appeared to be due to the fact that only 3% of the on-the-road drivers were exposed to frequent sobriety checkpoints (only 1 of 36 police agencies where we received enforcement data conducted checkpoints weekly). This low-use strategy is symptomatic of the general decline in checkpoint use in the U.S. since the 1980s and 1990s when the greatest declines in alcohol-impaired-driving fatal crashes occurred. The overall findings in this study may help law enforcement agencies around the country adjust their traffic enforcement intensity in order to reduce impaired driving in their community.     

Influence of traffic enforcement on the attitudes and behavior of drivers

Traditionally, traffic enforcement has been an important means of improving traffic safety. Many studies have provided evidence of connections between the level of police enforcement and both driving behavior and the number of traffic accidents. In Northern Kosovo, there has been little, if any, traffic enforcement during the last 13 years. This situation has created a very rare research opportunity – it is now possible to directly study the influence of traffic enforcement on the attitudes and behavior of drivers by comparing two regions, one with traffic enforcement and one without it (Serbia vs. Northern Kosovo). The sample in the present study consisted of 424 drivers (204 from Serbia and 220 from Northern Kosovo). Questionnaires included items about the behaviors of the drivers (e.g., speeding, seat belt, drunk driving) and their attitudes. We also conducted field observations of driving behavior. The results indicated that the lack of enforcement affects almost every type of behavior that we examined. Compared with drivers in Serbia, drivers in Northern Kosovo drive faster, exceed speed limits more frequently, use seat belts less frequently, drive after exceeding the legal limit for alcohol more often, commit aggressive and ordinary violations more frequently and are generally involved in more risky situations.     

Assessing the efficiency of priorities for traffic law enforcement in Norway

This paper assesses the efficiency of priorities for traffic law enforcement in Norway. Priorities are regarded as efficient if: (1) enforcement ensures a sufficient level of deterrence to keep down the rate of violations; (2) selection of target violations for enforcement is based on the risk attributable to them; and (3) an optimal level of enforcement is selected, i.e. the marginal benefits of enforcement in terms of preventing accidents equal the marginal costs of enforcement. The efficiency of current traffic law enforcement in Norway is assessed in terms of these criteria. It is found that the risk of apprehension varies considerably between different traffic violations. These variations do not reflect the risk attributable to the violations, i.e. it is not the case that the risk of apprehension is higher for violations that make a large contribution to fatalities and injuries than for violations that make a smaller contribution. In principle, shifting priorities so as to increase the risk of apprehension for some violations and reduce it for other violations could make police enforcement slightly more efficient. The main finding, however, is that the current level of enforcement is too low. Cost-benefit analyses show that substantially increasing the amount of police enforcement is cost-effective.     

Indicators of public attitudes toward science and technology

The use of attitude surveys inScience Indicators — 1976 is reviewed and found sufficiently flawed to limit the utility of survey results. The primary confusion throughout is the treatment of science and technology as if they were indistinguishable activities. Suggestions for conceptual improvement are presented both for describing attitudes and for predicting changes in them.     

Can road traffic law enforcement permanently reduce the number of accidents?

In this paper it is argued that conventional analyses of road user adaptation to traffic law enforcement, based on parametric rational-choice theory, are flawed. Such analyses only consider road-user actions as a response to enforcement level and penalty size and do not simultaneously consider enforcement as a response to road-user behaviour. If each party is considered a rational agent who adapts to the other's behaviour, the proper way to analyze the outcomes is by the way of game theory. A game-theoretic model is presented and the main implications are: (i) most attempts at enforcing road traffic legislation will not have any lasting effects, either on road-user behaviour or on accidents; (ii) imposing stricter penalties (in the form of higher fines or longer prison sentences) will not affect road-user behaviour; (iii) imposing stricter penalties will reduce the level of enforcement; (iv) implementing automatic traffic surveillance techniques and/or allocating enforcement resources according to a chance mechanism, and not according to police estimates of violation probability, can make enforcement effects last, but both alternatives are difficult to implement. Relevant empirical studies are reviewed, and they seem to support the conclusions arrived at by the game-theoretic model.     

Young drivers’ attitudes toward accompanied driving: A new multidimensional measure

Four studies were conducted in order to develop and validate a multidimensional instrument to assess attitudes toward accompanied driving among young drivers. Study 1 (n = 841) focused on developing the Attitudes Toward Accompanied Driving Scale (ATADS), a self-report scale based on five previously conceptualized domains of attitudes. Factor analysis revealed the five hypothesized factors: Tension, Relatedness, Disapproval, Avoidance, and Anxiety. In addition, significant associations were found between these factors and gender, age, and the assessment of reckless driving as risky. Study 2 (n = 651) adopted a developmental approach, comparing the attitudes of participants in various stages of licensure. Disapproval and Tension were found to be higher, and Relatedness lower, among participants who had not yet begun driving instruction than among those who were taking driving lessons or had already obtained a license. Study 3 (n = 160) revealed associations between the five ATADS factors and perceived driving costs and benefits. In Study 4 (n = 193), associations were found between these factors and driver's self-image, with a combination of ATADS factors, self-image, and gender contributing to the explained variance of two outcome variables: driving self-efficacy, and reported frequency of reckless driving. The discussion focuses on the validity and utility of the new measure of young drivers’ attitudes toward accompanied driving, stressing its practical implications for road safety.     

Chinese truck drivers' attitudes toward feedback by technology: a quantitative approach

This study examined Chinese truck drivers' attitudes toward receiving feedback about their driving performance by in-cab technology and explored the best ways of providing feedback to truck drivers in China. The similarities and differences between US and Chinese drivers were also compared. Survey data were collected from 200 long-haul truck drivers in China to provide quantitative information. The results of the current study were compared to the results of a previous study published in 2006 which utilized focus group discussions with Chinese truck drivers, and to the data of a similar survey conducted in the US and published in 2005. Results of the current study showed that Chinese truck drivers were eager for more feedback about their driving performance and they were willing to receive feedback from technology. Although negative feedback was most prevalent in their working environment and was considered acceptable if it improves driving safety, they considered positive feedback as more helpful to safe driving. They perceived many benefits of receiving feedback by technology and comparatively few drawbacks and concerns. Compared to US truck drivers who strongly preferred feedback from a human (e.g., safety director, dispatcher) rather than from technology, Chinese truck drivers were more positive in terms of receiving feedback from technology. They considered feedback from technology to be more objective and scientific than feedback from humans. This study showed the importance of considering cross-culture differences when planning to apply interventions in different countries and cultures.     

Law enforcement and alcohol consumption policy as countermeasures against drunken driving: Possibilities and limitations

The potential effectiveness of the two following countermeasures against drunken driving is assessed in this paper: (1) manipulation of the risk of detection, and (2) changes of the opportunity structure, i.e. alcohol consumption and motoring. Empirical findings for Sweden in 1976 indicate that the first countermeasure seems to have no observable impact on the incidence of drunken driving, at least not in the short term. The clearest indication of the appropriate preventive measure is the strong relationship found between drunken driving and alcohol consumption: however, such a relationship was not found for motoring.     

Results of a seat belt use law enforcement and publicity campaign in Elmira, New York

In New York and other states in which seat belt use laws went into effect in the mid-1980s, belt use rates surged initially, then declined. This pattern of belt use also occurred in Canadian provinces that enacted laws in the mid-1970s; special enforcement programs reversed this trend. In late 1985 a three-week enforcement and publicity program was conducted in Elmira, New York. Belt use rates in Elmira were 49 percent before the program, 77 percent right after, and 66 percent two months later. In Glens Falls, a comparison city without a program, belt use declined from 43 percent to 37 percent during this interval. In a telephone survey after the campaign, Elmira respondents were more likely to say the belt use law was being strictly enforced and were more favorable toward it, compared to Glens Falls respondents. These data indicate that enforcement/publicity programs are an important and feasible method for increasing compliance with belt use laws.     

Front-line police officers' practices, perceptions and attitudes about the enforcement of impaired driving laws in Canada

A survey of front line police officers' practices, perceptions and attitudes regarding detection of impaired driving, processing of driving while impaired (DWI) charges, criminal court proceedings and DWI sanctions was conducted across Canada. A sample of 1545 officers of all jurisdictions across the country, representative of different types of police services (i.e. national, provincial, municipal) and types of policing (i.e. traffic, general duty) were surveyed by mail. The results, based on a 71% response rate, indicate that: an average of 7.5 charges/year are laid by officers resulting mainly from erratic driving; videotaping and mobile breath testing could improve efficiency of DWI enforcement; it takes an average of 2 h 48 min to process each DWI charge; about 2/3 of officers say plea bargaining occurs at least sometimes; the average length of DWI trial is over 4 h; less than half of officers think Crown Attorneys are adequately prepared for DWI cases; about 3/4 of officers think the accused escapes conviction on a legal technicality at least sometimes; about 30% of officers say short-term licence suspensions and other forms of discretion are used at least sometimes; DWI places fifth in priority among 15 offences, up from eighth in a 1981 survey; DWI is a priority for most police management but human resources are not adequate; and there is greater support for administrative than for Criminal Code changes. Multiple regressions indicated that the number of DWI charges laid by officers depended mainly on the officers' personal priority regarding DWI enforcement. The results suggest that many officers want to enforce DWI laws but that the numerous procedural and legal barriers that they confront often force them to exercise discretion in the laying of DWI charges.     

Seat belt use among 13-15 year olds in primary and secondary enforcement law states

CONTEXT: Coverage and enforcement provisions of safety belt use laws vary by state. Most laws cover drivers and passengers age 16 and above. "Primary" enforcement laws allow police to stop and ticket a motorist for a safety belt law violation. With "secondary" enforcement laws, ticketing can only occur in the presence of another traffic infraction. Given the lower rates of restraint use among teen drivers and their passengers, the effect of primary enforcement laws on the restraint use of young teen passengers is of particular interest. OBJECTIVE: To compare restraint use by 13-15 year olds passengers in motor vehicle crashes in states with primary versus secondary enforcement safety belt laws. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 3953 crashes involving 5372 children, representing 54,226 children aged 13-15 years in 41,198 crashes of insured vehicles in 16 states and Washington, DC between December 1, 1998 and December 31, 2004, with data collected via insurance claims records and a telephone survey. RESULTS: Non-use of restraints by 13-15 year olds was 7.2% (95% CI 4.3-10.1%) greater in secondary enforcement states (10.8%) as compared to states with primary enforcement laws (3.6%). After controlling for driver's age and restraint status and the seating row of the occupant, a 13-15 year olds was over twice as likely to be unrestrained in a secondary enforcement state as compared to a primary enforcement state (adjusted RR=2.2, 95% CI 1.5-3.1). CONCLUSIONS: States considering primary enforcement provisions to their restraint laws should consider the potential benefits these laws may have to all occupants in the vehicle, particularly young adolescents who are nearing driving age.     

Sobriety tests for low blood alcohol concentrations

The legal limits of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for operators of commercial vehicles throughout the United States, and underage drivers in most states, are approximately half the 0.08-0.10% imposed on other drivers. Easily administered measures involving performance and appearance are needed to establish probable cause for requesting breath tests. Several measures showing relationships to blood alcohol were examined for their ability to distinguish BACs under and over 0.04% within the 0.00-0.08% range. Measures of heat loss. pupillary response, balance, complex tasks, and accuracy under speed were studied in controlled experiments with alcohol-dosed subjects. The only reliable index of blood alcohol was horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) as administered in the standardized field sobriety test (SFST), using alternative scoring criteria. Although other measures evidenced intra-individual change at low BACs, the magnitude of change was greatly exceeded by inter-individual differences, thwarting their use in detecting drivers with BACs lower than 0.08%. HGN, however, proved as valid in detecting BACs in the 0.04-0.08% range as at the higher levels of the SFST. It is also as valid when administered to a seated subject as one standing, making it of particular benefit in enforcement, where the behavior of low BAC drivers rarely provides probable cause to request that they leave a vehicle to be tested in a standing position.     

An experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of different methods and intensities of law enforcement on driving speed on motorways

Two field experiments were conducted to establish the most effective method of enforcement in reducing driving speed and to establish the most efficient strategy in terms of police force personnel required. In the first experiment, the effect of three variables on driving speed on motorways was studied. The first variable, intensity of enforcement, was manipulated by creating three different objective levels of apprehension for detected speeding drivers. The second variable was method of enforcement. On-view stopping and ticketing of offenders was compared to mailing of fines on the basis of the car's licence plate number. The third variable manipulated was the time delay in the mailing of fines. Time delay between detection of the offence and feedback to the driver was shortened in one condition. In a second experiment, police enforcement effort was optimized by relating intensity level of enforcement to the proportion of speeding vehicles. In the first experiment, police enforcement was applied for four weeks; in the second experiment, enforcement activities were continued for 12 consecutive weeks. In both cases the main dependent variable was driving speed. Before, during, and after the application of enforcement, speed was registered using induction loops. In addition, driver opinion about speeding and speed enforcement was studied using postal questionnaire surveys. The results show the largest and longest lasting reduction in driving speed in the highest intensity level-condition, giving support for a relation between objective chance of apprehension and speed choice. On-view stopping of offenders was shown to be a more effective method to reduce driving speed than mailing of fines. Some of these results are discussed in the light of game theory. The questionnaire surveys indicated that most drivers did not notice the recurrence in enforcement activities due to infrequent passing of the sections of motorways studied. The preventive effect of police enforcement appeared to be far more substantial than its repressive effect. Enforcement primarily deters the current nonoffender from speeding.     

The contribution of perceived parental and familial characteristics to attitudes toward accompanied driving among young drivers

One of the main requirements of the graduated driving licensing system in Israel is that new drivers be accompanied by an experienced driver (usually one of their parents) for the first three months after receipt of their license. The current series of studies examined the associations between young drivers’ attitudes toward accompanied driving (ATAD) and their perception of their parents’ driving styles and parenting modes, as well as dynamic of their family. Young drivers completed questionnaires assessing their ATAD, and either perceived parental driving style (Study 1, n = 100), perceived parenting style (Study 2, n = 120), or perceived family dynamic (Study 3, n = 254). The results indicated significant associations between the young drivers’ ATAD of tension, relatedness, avoidance, disapproval, and anxiety, and their own perceptions of the characteristic driving styles of their parents (risky, anxious, angry, and careful). They also indicated significant relationship between youngsters’ ATAD and their perceptions of their parents’ parenting modes (responsive, demanding, and autonomy-granting). Finally, the results indicated significant negative associations between ATAD of tension, avoidance, disapproval, and anxiety, and family cohesion and adaptability, and a positive association between these two and relatedness. The results are discussed in respect to the relationship between the parental model and the young drivers’ ATAD in particular, and risk management in general, and practical implications of these results are offered.     

Traffic safety and the switch to a primary seat belt law: the California experience

This study explores whether the change of an existing seat belt law from secondary to primary enforcement enhances traffic safety. In particular, we examine traffic fatalities and injuries in California from 1988 to 1997. During the first half of this period, California law provided for secondary enforcement of its mandatory seat belt law, but in 1993 it upgraded the law to primary enforcement. Controlling for the number of motor vehicle collisions, a Box–Tiao intervention analysis of the time series is used to compare the monthly fatalities and injuries before and after the change in the enforcement provision. The results show that California experienced an improvement in traffic safety in terms of a significant reduction in injuries, but the change in enforcement provision had no statistically significant impact on fatalities.     

Using diffusion of innovation theory and sentiment analysis to analyze attitudes toward driving adoption by Saudi women

Although several studies have used sentiment analysis to examine social media content, relatively few have complemented this work with sociological theories. This study employed the diffusion of innovation (DOI) framework to provide a deeper understanding of the recent debate on whether women in Saudi Arabia should be granted the right to drive. The outlook of proponents and opponents was considered by using detailed Arabic Twitter data. The sentiment analysis approach was used. The findings were analyzed on the basis of DOI stages, and the innovation–decision process demonstrated that 60% of Twitter users supported the governments' approval of women's right to drive and 40% either opposed the order or had a neutral opinion. The finding of our analysis suggests that Saudi society corresponds the DOI stages and exhibits the tendency to support the right of women to drive. This study contributes to DOI research, particularly concerning the use of social media for studying opinions on important unsettled social matters.