Can Communities Re-Educate Drinking Drivers?

Describes a Department of Transportation-sponsored prototype program for convicted drinking drivers, conducted in Santa Monica by USC's Public Systems Research Institute. Sixty court-assigned subjects on summary probation underwent a 12-week program: one week of initial counseling and questionnaires, four weeks of once-weekly evening classes on the effects of drinking and driving, six weeks of once-weekly eclectic group therapy aimed at individual problems, and one week of exit interviews and questionnaires. A 24-hour crisis intervention hot line, ongoing counseling, and emergency cab pickup were available throughout, but were little used. (Thirty controls received hot line service only.) Each session and interview had a simple evaluation form; the program was designed for responsiveness to participant feedback. Class retraining and standardized initial and exit interviews proved effective and economical. Group therapy was effective--increasingly so as the weeks went on. The appendix includes flowcharts of program development and of DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) court processing. 17 pp.