title: Preventing alcohol-related convictions: the effect of a novel curriculum for first-time offenders on DUI recidivism.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether DUI offenders can better avoid future drinking and driving by controlling their vehicle usage rather than by controlling their drinking.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a randomized experimental post-test only design, 9,571 first-time DUI offenders were randomly assigned to receive one of two 12-hour educational programs: a traditional DUI curriculum or the PARC (Preventing Alcohol-Related Convictions) curriculum, which uses a novel theoretical approach to preventing DUI recidivism. Whereas traditional programs focus on participants controlling their drinking to avoid future drinking and driving, the PARC curriculum focuses on participants controlling their driving. Instead of trying to control alcohol consumption after driving to a drinking venue (previously found to be a flawed strategy), PARC teaches students to make a decision before leaving home not to drive to a drinking event, thus greatly limiting the possibility of drinking and driving. Driving records were obtained from the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles using driver's license numbers to assess DUI recidivism rates among the students in the PARC and Traditional curricula for the first year following program participation and again at 2 years post-intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that offenders receiving the PARC curriculum exhibited significantly lower 1-year and 2-year recidivism rates than those receiving the Traditional curriculum. The effect was consistent across two different measures of recidivism, and across gender, race, ethnicity, and location.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that the PARC educational approach may be more effective than the traditional approach in reducing DUI recidivism.
authors.affiliation: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Calverton, Maryland 20705, USA. rrider@pire.org
authors.forename: Raamses
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rider
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Voas
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kelley-Baker
authors.forename: Milton
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grosz
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000193:education / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003479:Curriculum; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D055502:Secondary Prevention