摘要: |
State legislators have taken to task the development of stiffer laws involving punishment, education, and treatment meant to deter drinking and driving. Citizens have formed effective oversight groups such as MADD to lobby for stiffer penalties actively. The federal government has sponsored several programs meant to stem growth in driving while intoxicated (DWI) rates, such as Campaign Safe and Sober, and state level sobriety checkpoints. Although data systems, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Fatal Accident Reporting System' and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Report, provide empirical evidence that a DWI problem exists, effective management of DWI at a state level has long been overlooked by most states. At Traffic Safety Summit 113, the judges and prosecutors who formed the panel Group IV, pointed out that appropriate record keeping is vital to the successful functioning of local, state, and national criminal justice systems. They stated that DWI was of most concern to them regarding traffic safety because, among other reasons, it dominated their dockets and their time. Consequently, most of their discussions concentrated on records and record keeping related to DWI charges and dispositions. Furthermore, the members of Group II listed as a primary recommendation the 'disposition of DWI cases speedily, consistently, and with the imposition of sanctions as a certainty.' |