Working Paper: NBER ID: w3831
Authors: Frank J. Chaloupka; Henry Saffer; Michael Grossman
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to estimate the effects of drunk driving deterrents and other alcohol related policies on drunk driving. The data set employed is an annual time-series of state cross-sections for the 48 contiguous states of the U.S. from 1982 through 1988. Total and alterative alcohol involved motor vehicle fatality rates, for the general population and for 18 to 20 year olds, are used as measures of drunk driving. The results indicate that the moat effective policies are increased beer taxes and mandatory administrative license actions. Maintaining the beer tax at its real 1951 value would have reduced fatalities by 11.5 percent annually, on average, during the sample period. A mandatory administrative license sanction of one year would have reduced fatalities by 9 percent. The next most effective policies are a 21 year old legal drinking age, preliminary breath test and dram shop laws and relatively large mandatory fines. These policies each reduce total fatalities by about 5 to 6 percent. No plea bargaining provisions and mandatory license sanctions upon conviction are also found to have some deterrent effect. Other drunk driving laws tested include mandatory jail sentences and community service options, illegal per se laws, and open container laws. None of these were found to have a deterrent effect on drunk driving.
Keywords: alcohol control policies; motor vehicle fatalities; drunk driving deterrents
JEL Codes: I18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increased beer taxes (H29) | reduction in motor vehicle fatalities (R48) |
| mandatory administrative license actions (K23) | reduction in motor vehicle fatalities (R48) |
| legal drinking age of 21 (I19) | reduction in motor vehicle fatalities (R48) |
| preliminary breath tests (Y20) | reduction in motor vehicle fatalities (R48) |
| dram shop laws (K32) | reduction in motor vehicle fatalities (R48) |
| large mandatory fines (K49) | reduction in motor vehicle fatalities (R48) |
| no plea bargaining provisions (K40) | deterrent effect on drunk driving (R48) |
| mandatory license sanctions upon conviction (R48) | deterrent effect on drunk driving (R48) |
| mandatory jail sentences (K40) | no significant impact on drunk driving (R48) |
| open container laws (K32) | no significant impact on drunk driving (R48) |