TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH Number E-C123 November 2007 Traffic Safety and Alcohol Regulation A Symposium June 5–6, 2006 Irvine, California TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2007 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OFFICERS Chair: Linda S. Watson, Executive Director, LYNX–Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Orlando Vice Chair: Debra L. Miller, Secretary, Kansas Department of Transportation, Topeka Division Chair for NRC Oversight: C. Michael Walton, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin Executive Director: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2007 TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES COUNCIL Chair: Neil J. Pedersen, State Highway Administrator, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore Technical Activities Director: Mark R. Norman, Transportation Research Board Paul H. Bingham, Principal, Global Insight, Inc., Washington, D.C., Freight Systems Group Chair Shelly R. Brown, Principal, Shelly Brown Associates, Seattle, Washington, Legal Resources Group Chair James M. Crites, Executive Vice President, Operations, Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, Aviation Group Chair Leanna Depue, Director, Highway Safety Division, Missouri Department of Transportation, Jefferson City, System Users Group Chair Arlene L. Dietz, A&C Dietz, LLC, Salem, Oregon, Marine Group Chair Robert M. Dorer, Deputy Director, Office of Surface Transportation Programs, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Rail Group Chair Robert C. Johns, Director, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Policy and Organization Group Chair Karla H. Karash, Vice President, TranSystems Corporation, Medford, Massachusetts, Public Transportation Group Chair Marcy S. Schwartz, Senior Vice President, CH2M Hill, Portland, Oregon, Planning and Environment Group Chair Leland D. Smithson, AASHTO SICOP Coordinator, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames, Operations and Maintenance Group Chair L. David Suits, Executive Director, North American Geosynthetics Society, Albany, New York, Design and Construction Group Chair TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH CIRCULAR E-C123 Traffic Safety and Alcohol Regulation A Symposium June 5–6, 2006 Irvine, California November 2007 Transportation Research Board Washington, D.C. www.TRB.org TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH CIRCULAR E-C123 ISSN 0097-8515 The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves as an independent adviser to the federal government on scientific and technical questions of national importance. The National Research Council, jointly administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, brings the resources of the entire scientific and technical communities to bear on national problems through its volunteer advisory committees. The Transportation Research Board is distributing this Circular to make the information contained herein available for use by individual practitioners in state and local transportation agencies, researchers in academic institutions, and other members of the transportation research community. The information in this Circular was taken directly from the submission of the authors. This document is not a report of the National Research Council or of the National Academy of Sciences. System Users Group Barry M. Sweedler, Chair Safety Section Leanna Depue, Chair Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Transportation Committee Kathryn Stewart, Chair Susan A. Ferguson, Secretary Eileen M. Ahlin Joel W. Grube Mary Sheehan Doug Beirness Steven Gust Jean T. Shope Richard D. Blomberg Ralph Hingson Ruth A. Shults Paul Boase John H. Lacey Gordon S. Smith Jayne E. Clarkson Hans Laurell Samantha Snitow Neil K. Chaudhary Barry K. Logan Carl A. Soderstrom Asbjørg Christophersen Paul Marques Barry M. Sweedler Richard P. Compton Charles Mercier-Guyon Lyne Vezina Johan J. De Gier Herbert Moskowitz Robert B. Voas David J. DeYoung Robyn Robertson J. Michael Walsh James C. Fell Danielle E. Roeber Allan F. Williams Dary Fiorentino Fred E. Zwonechek Richard F. Pain, TRB Staff Representative Transportation Research Board 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 www.TRB.org Jennifer Correro, Proofreader and Layout Contents Foreword.........................................................................................................................................1 Overview and Summary................................................................................................................2 Kathryn Stewart, Safety and Policy Analysis International Alcohol Regulation and Traffic Safety: An Overview..............................................................13 Joel W. Grube, Prevention Research Center Alcohol Prices and Traffic Safety...............................................................................................31 Douglas Young, Montana State University Legal Framework for Alcohol Regulation in the United States ..............................................48 James Mosher, Center for the Study of Law and Enforcement Policy Alcohol Regulation in Sweden and the European Union: Effects on Road Safety ................60 Hans Laurell, Swedish Road Administration Alcohol Policies in the Americas.................................................................................................73 Maristela G. Monteiro, Janis Dawson, and Laura Krech, Pan American Health Organization Minimum Purchase Age Laws: How Effective Are They in Reducing Alcohol-Impaired Driving?........................................................................................84 Ann T. McCartt and Bevan B. Kirley, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety New Zealand Lowers Drinking Age: Case Study .....................................................................97 Kypros Kypri, University of Otago, New Zealand Status of 14 Under-Age-21 Drinking Laws in the United States .............................................98 James C. Fell, Robert B. Voas, and Deborah A. Fisher, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Limits on Outlet Density and Location: Effects on Traffic Safety........................................109 Paul Gruenewald, Prevention Research Center Limits on Hours of Sales and Service: Effects on Traffic Safety...........................................120 Evelyn Vingilis, University of Western Ontario, Canada The Effects of Establishing Closing Hours in Juárez, Mexico...............................................130 Robert B. Voas, Eduardo Romano, and Tara Kelley-Baker, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation iii Alcohol Sales and Service to Underage Youth and Intoxicated Patrons: Effects of Responsible Beverage Service Training and Enforcement Interventions ...........141 Alexander C. Wagenaar and Amy L. Tobler, University of Florida Detecting Alcohol Impairment by Observation of Intoxication ............................................164 Herbert Moskowitz, University of California at Los Angeles Alcohol Law Enforcement: Agencies, Methods, and Impact.................................................169 Aidan J. Moore, National Center for Alcohol Law Enforcement Enhanced Enforcement of Laws Prohibiting Sale of Alcohol to Minors: Systematic Review of Effectiveness for Reducing Sales and Underage Drinking ...............181 Randy W. Elder, Brian Lawrence, Gail Janes, and Robert D. Brewer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Traci L. Toomey, University of Minnesota; Ralph W. Hingson, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Timothy S. Naimi, Indian Health Service; Stephen G. Wing, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration; Jonathan Fielding, Task Force on Community Preventive Services The Importance of Alcohol Regulation at All Levels: Bringing It All Together— Lessons from Underage Drinking Controls.............................................................................189 Ralph W. Hingson, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism APPENDIXES A: Workshop Agenda ................................................................................................................207 B: Workshop Participants.........................................................................................................210 iv Foreword eduction of alcohol-impaired driving can be considered from both sides of the problem: how to reduce traffic problems and how to reduce alcohol impairment. A variety of alcohol R control and regulation strategies have been found to reduce alcohol impairment among drivers. In order to review and synthesize many of the most promising strategies in alcohol regulation, the Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Transportation Committee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) convened a workshop to discuss the role of alcohol regulation in traffic safety. The workshop was held June 5–6, 2006, at the National Academies’ Beckman Conference Center in Irvine, California. This report provides an overview of the information presented and the discussions among the participants as well as the background papers prepared for the workshop. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This symposium was organized by TRB’s Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Transportation Committee (ANB50). The symposium was made possible in part by the support of the NHTSA, Transport Canada, and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. The workshop was also cosponsored by the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety. Many members of the committee