How to design and implement a drinking and driving programme pdf ...

Module 3: How to design and implement a drinking and driving programme
Dealing with repeat offenders
The issue of repeat offenders is not covered in great detail in this manual. This is
because countries need well-developed data collection systems that enable repeat
drinking and driving offenders to be identified and tracked, and this is generally not
the case in the target audience countries for this manual.
In brief, the two main methods of dealing with repeat offenders in countries with
advanced drinking and driving programmes are: vehicle sanctions and rehabilitation
programmes. Vehicle sanctions have been briefly discussed in the
previous section.
Rehabilitation programmes are diverse and their effectiveness is often unresearched.
However, there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that rehabilitation courses that
follow good practice can be effective in reducing repeat offences, including (14):
• education-based programmes that assume that lack of knowledge about alcohol
and the risks of drinking and driving results in poor decision-making. While
breaking the connection between drinking and driving is the main aim of such
programmes, they may also have the benefit of encouraging participants to recognise
a drinking problem and consider alternatives to drinking and driving while
over the legal BAC limit.
• psychotherapy or counselling-based programmes, directed mostly to individuals
with signs of alcohol dependence or addiction. They are generally focused on
reducing alcohol consumption. However, these programmes may fail to address
drinking and driving.
• combined programmes that recognise that the problems are a combination of
crash risk and alcohol misuse. Education sessions are often used to address knowledge
about the risks of drink-driving, while individual counselling tackles issues
related to individual alcohol misuse.
Researchers (15) report that rehabilitation programmes reduced drinking and driving
recidivism by 7–9%. Shorter follow-up periods resulted in greater variability in effect
size. A number of characteristics were common to successful programmes, including
that they:
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targeted high-risk groups;
were based in the community rather than a single institution;
had a focus on both behavioural and cognitive factors;
had clear objectives and content;
had a directive treatment style;
were delivered exactly as designed.
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