Researchers examined survey data collected from individual drivers, police, and defense attorneys specializing in DWI in eight U.S. cities. They compared two measures to determine which was a better deterrent of alcohol-impaired driving: the threat of being apprehended for DWI or harsher penalties for DWI.
Individuals reported that a greater perceived chance of being pulled over for DWI corresponded to less alcohol-impaired driving on their part. Conversely, individual perceptions of DWI penalties were unrelated to their self-reports of current or future alcohol-impaired driving. The authors suggested that increasing the certainty of apprehension by increasing police staffing and/or conducting more sobriety checks would likely be more effective in reducing alcohol-impaired driving than legislating increased penalties.