Number 324 March 2007

Traffic Safety Facts

Traffic Tech – Technology Transfer Series

Connecticut Tests NHTSA’S High Visibility 

Enforcement Impaired Driving Campaign in 2003

U.S. Department of Transportation 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

In 2003, Connecticut launched a statewide impaireddriving publicity and enforcement campaign to reduce

impaired driving and alcohol-related fatalities. This initiative was a test of NHTSA’s High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) impaired driving model.

Connecticut’s campaign had three components: (1) media with an enforcement message, (2) enhanced periods of enforcement surrounding the July 4th and winter holidays focusing on using sobriety checkpoints,

and (3) sustained DWI enforcement between holiday

enforcement periods. The model included crackdown

periods and sustained enforcement supported by paid

and earned media.

Paid and Earned Media

For each holiday enforcement period, the State implemented a four- to six-week paid and earned media

campaign with a strong enforcement message. Earned

media is coverage a program “earns” whenever it

makes the news in print or broadcast. The focus of the

media campaign was primarily male drivers age 21 to

34 because of their high rate of involvement in alcoholrelated crashes. The media increased awareness of the

enforcement activities, especially during holiday periods, and increased the perceived risk of being stopped

if a driver had been drinking. Some media components

continued throughout the seven-month campaign.

Sobriety Checkpoints

Sobriety checkpoints constituted the main focus of the

enforcement effort. During the July 4th holiday period,

the State funded 24 sobriety checkpoints. Fifteen towns

held at least one checkpoint each during this period.

During the winter holiday period, 28 police agencies

and the State police conducted a total of 51 sobriety

checkpoints, more than twice as many as conducted

during the July 4th holiday period. Under the expanded grants, local law enforcement officers in 18 towns 

and the State police conducted a total of 89 checkpoints,

some of which were conducted during the two holiday

enforcement periods. Researchers collected direct measurements of drinking and driving from drivers passing

through 20 additional sobriety checkpoints by obtaining voluntary, anonymous blood alcohol concentration

(BAC) information from a random sample of drivers.

Statewide Telephone Survey

Telephone surveys were conducted before and after

each holiday period from a representative sample of

2,430 Connecticut drivers using random digit dialing.

There was a statistically significant increase in the number of respondents who reported hearing or seeing

something about alcohol impaired driving enforcement

after each holiday period compared to those asked

before the holiday periods (+8.6 and +8.5 percentage

points, respectively). The perception that State police

very strictly enforced drinking and driving laws rose

from 39.2 percent to 48.8 percent from the period before to the period afterthe July 4th holiday enforcement

period, and again from 38.3 percent to 48.1 percent

before and after the winter 2003 holiday enforcement

period. After both holiday periods, there was also an

increase in respondents who thought that a driver who

had been drinking was more likely to be stopped by an

officer (54% to 63% and 54% to 65%).

Direct Observations of Driver BACs

Over three times as many sobriety checkpoints were

held during the winter holiday and were preceded by

more checkpoints during the sustained enforcement

period, so the cumulative effect of the campaign on

driver Blood Alcohol Concentrations requires comparing the pre July 4th data to the post winter holiday

period data.
TRAFFIC TECH is a publication to disseminate information about traffic safety programs, including evaluations,

innovative programs, and new publications. Feel free to

copy it as you wish. If you would like to receive a copy, contact Melissa Cheung, MPH, Editor, fax 202-366-7096, e-mail:

melissa.cheung@dot.gov.

400 Seventh Street SW., NTI-130

Washington, DC 20590

Driver BACs were collected at sobriety checkpoints in

nine towns before and after the holiday enforcement

periods. Randomly selected drivers gave voluntary,

anonymous BACs on a handheld breath-testing device.

Generally, about 92 percent or more drivers agreed to

the BAC test. The team collected 1,249 BAC samples

from drivers before and after the July 4th holiday enforcement period and 2,115 BAC samples from drivers

before and after the winter enforcement period.

The results of the roadside BAC surveys showed an

increase in the number of drinking drivers after the

July 4th holiday period that was consistent with selfreported drinking and driving on the telephone survey. A comparison of the positive BAC results from the

pre- and post-winter holiday periods indicated that the

proportion of positive BAC results decreased while the

proportion of zero BAC results increased. There was a

significant decrease in the proportion of drivers with 

positive BACs from the pre-July 4th period to the postwinter holiday enforcement period.

Driver BACs and Refusals for Roadside Surveys (2003)

July 4th

Pre

(%)

July 4th

Post

(%)

Winter

Pre

(%)

Winter

Post

(%)

(N=616) (N=723) (N=1168) (N=1132)

Positive BAC 13.5 16.5 11.0 9.3

Zero BAC 80.5 76.1 79.8 83.3

Refused Test 6.0 7.5 9.2 6.9

Alcohol-Related Fatalities Decreased

ARIMA analysis indicated that alcohol-related fatalities

in Connecticut decreased significantly after the beginning of the high visibility enforcement campaign. This

graph shows Connecticut alcohol-related fatalities adjusted for seasonal trends and economic variations from

contiguous counties in Massachusetts, New York, and

Rhode Island. Overall, there were about 37 less alcoholrelated fatalities in Connecticut for the 18 months following the beginning of the campaign.

Connecticut’s Alcohol-Related Fatalities 2000-2004

Adjusted for Trends in Contiguous Counties

Summary

Surveys indicated that the paid media reached a substantial number of Connecticut drivers. Law enforcement agencies conducted a large number of sobriety

checkpoints throughout the campaign, with a particularly large number during the winter 2003 holiday

period. The combined publicity and HVE campaign

achieved its ultimate goal: significantly reducing the alcohol-related fatalities. For the 18 months following the

start of the first campaign crackdown in July 2003, an 

estimated 2.6 lives a month (47 lives total) were saved

and the alcohol-related fatality trend significantly decreased for men 21 to 34 years old, saving an estimated

1.6 lives each month (28 lives total).

How to Order

For a copy of the Connecticut’s 2003 Impaired Driving 

Publicity and Enforcement Campaign (31 pages), conducted by Preusser Research Group, download from www.

nhtsa.dot.gov, write to the Office of Behavioral Safety 

Research, NHTSA, NTI-130, 400 Seventh Street SW.,

Washington, DC 20590, or send a fax to 202-366-7096.

John Siegler, Ph.D., was the contracting officer’s technical representative. Adjusted Alcohol Related Fatalities 16

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