This 30-month study examines the effects of various laws, criminal and tort, and insurer practices on decisions to drink in excessive amounts, to drive under the influence of alcohol, and on adverse outcomes from heavy drinking and driving under the influence--the likelihood of fatal accidents, motor vehicle and others (e.g., deaths due to falls, fires, drownings), hospitalizations likely to be caused by alcohol-related accidents, and premiums for automobile property-liability insurance. The theoretical analysis will consider the effects of laws and automobile insurer practices on the level of activity (drinking) and level of precautions when undertaking the activity (e.g., drunk driving). One of the concerns expressed in literature on tort law is that liability insurance blunts the effort of tort law sanctions. Our theory will explicitly consider the deterrent effects of first-party and third-party insurance. Without effective sanctions, some operators of vehicles will take insufficient account of the costs imposed by drunk drivers on others. Empirically, we shall examine impacts of tort-based and criminal law sanctions (which vary across states and over time) on the dependent variables listed above. We shall use data at both the individual (Behavioral Risk Factor and Health Interview Surveys, insurance claims data) and state levels (motor vehicle and nonmotor vehicle mortality related to alcohol use, auto insurance premiums) in our empirical analysis. Little is currently known about how a record of driving under the influence of alcohol affects a person's automobile insurance premiums and ability to obtain such coverage. To learn more, we will consult unpublished sources and conduct surveys of insurers. A major contribution of the study will be an improved understanding about how the threat (or lack thereof) of increased premiums and loss of coverage affects drunk driving and the other dependent variables. While other studies have evaluated impacts of laws, our study will incorporate a larger number of such variables, and a broader range of dependent variables. The observational period (depending on the data source) will be 1981-89. During this period, a number of states enacted laws that potentially affect heavy drinking and driving under the influence directly or indirectly. Six papers are planned.
| Stout, E M; Sloan, F A; Liang, L et al. (2000) Reducing harmful alcohol-related behaviors: effective regulatory methods. J Stud Alcohol 61:402-12 |
| Whetten-Goldstein, K; Sloan, F A; Stout, E et al. (2000) Civil liability, criminal law, and other policies and alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities in the United States: 1984-1995. Accid Anal Prev 32:723-33 |
| Sloan, F A; Reilly, B A; Schenzler, C (1994) Effects of prices, civil and criminal sanctions, and law enforcement on alcohol-related mortality. J Stud Alcohol 55:454-65 |
