This award will enable Dr. John R. Snortum, Claremont McKenna College, to collaborate with: Drs. David Riley, The Home Office, London, England; Hans Klette, University of Lund, Sweden; and Wolf Middendorff, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, and Gunter Kroj, Federal Highway Research Institute, Cologne, both from the Federal Republic of Germany. They will attempt to test the validity of general deterrence theory in preventing alcohol-impaired driving in three countries in Western Europe and the United States. General deterrence itself cannot be measured directly, so indirect methods will be used to assess its effects. Dr. Snortum has devised a method of "contextual analysis" to measure the complex of cultural, legal, moral, and social variables that impinge on drivers in drinking-driving situations. The researchers will determine the relative influence of legal threat, moral commitment, and respect for formal law in preventing deterrence in the study countries. The research will also determine the legal origins and empirical impact of laws concerning blood alcohol limits for drivers in the countries. Each of the researchers has already contributed to understanding these issues and this award will help bring them together for concerted scientific effort in dealing with a serious social problem.
