Liberalization and rationalization of drunk-driving laws in Scandinavia

Punishment as a factor in preventing alcohol‐related accidents

“…There has also been confirmation of the ability of interventions aimed at swift punishment to reduce drunk driving, although it is often difficult in practice to distinguish these (increasing celerity) from interventions based on raising the likelihood of punishment (increasing certainty). In contrast, there is little evidence for the effectiveness of policies increasing the severity of penalties in the context of generally prevailing levels of certainty and celerity; rather, decreases in severity are accomplished with no evidence of increases in accidents; see Ross, McCleary & Klette (1983) and Ross, Klette & McCleary (1992).…”

Injuries From Traffic Crashes: Meeting the Challenge

“…Despite the widely cited statistic that a majority of traffic fatalities involve alcohol (24,105), the scientific literature before 1980 indicated that few public policies had achieved a significant and sustained decline in alcohol-related fatalities. Some police crackdowns on drunk driving achieved short-term reductions in traffic crashes and fatalitics, but these gains tended to be short-lived (91,92). The prevailing wisdom in the traffic safety community was that, because driver behaviors are highly resistant to change, policymakers should empha size policies that improve safety through technological modifications in vehicle and highway design (35,46,88).…”