Why does the injured drunk driver escape arrest and conviction? A case presentation and discussion by health care and law enforcement professionals.
Serious injury protects the drunk driver from prosecution and conviction for driving drunk. This escape from liability occurs despite the fact that almost half of all traffic fatalities are attributable to alcohol. Consequently, the drunk driver who is injured may resume driving as soon as he is physically able to do so, thereby becoming a renewed threat to himself and others. On the other hand, a conviction for driving while impaired (DWI) results in loss of the driving privilege, reducing exposure of other drivers to a public health hazard. A DWI conviction may also stimulate the drunk driver to seek treatment for alcoholism. Unless they are prosecuted, even seriously injured drunk drivers are seldom referred for alcoholism counseling or treatment. To explore the reasons for this continuing cycle of impairment and injury, a panel of experts from the fields of health care and law enforcement was convened on October 30, 1991, during the Third Annual North Carolina Conference on Injury Control. The panel considered the hypothetical case of an alcohol-related motor vehicle crash in which a passenger was killed. We present here an edited transcript from that conference.
Cole
T B
TB
Injury Control Section, NC Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Raleigh 27611.
Patetta
M J
MJ
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003416:Criminal Law / Q000379:methods; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods*; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal; D009657:North Carolina; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations