Do drunk drivers pay their way? A note on optimal penalties for drunk driving.
This paper uses a simple framework to describe optimal penalties for drunk driving, and reviews available data to judge current policies against this standard. The analysis suggests that policies should be designed so that the penalties paid by drunk drivers equal the value of the increased risks drunk drivers impose on others. Current penalties appear to be too lenient, implying that current levels of drunk driving are too high.
Department of Economics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802.
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Kenkel
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal / Q000191:economics*; D011640:Public Policy; D011678:Punishment / Q000523:psychology; D012309:Risk-Taking; D014481:United States; D026712:Value of Life