Traffic Safety Facts

Traffic Tech – Technology Transfer Series

U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Number 358 January 2009

Evaluation of NHTSA Region 3’s Checkpoint 

Strikeforce Program

There were 17,602 alcohol-relatedfatalities in theUnited

States in 2006. One of the most effective approaches for

decreasing these types of fatalities is the use of sobriety checkpoints. Continuous and highly visible checkpoints have been shown to decrease alcohol-related

fatalities (those with a driver or nonoccupant with a

blood alcohol concentration of .01 grams per deciliter

or more) up to 20%.

In 2002 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Region 3 Office (formerly known as the MidAtlantic Region) initiated Checkpoint Strikeforce. This

program is a concentrated multi-State enforcement

campaign coupled with an intensive media campaign.

The program dramatically differed from previous

efforts in that each jurisdiction in the region (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia,

and the District of Columbia) made a serious commitment to conducting at least one checkpoint each week

throughout the initial 6-month period between July

and December 2002. After initial promising results, the

jurisdictions have continued the Checkpoint Strikeforce

program the last 6 months of each year.

The goal of a sobriety checkpoint is not just to make

DWI arrests—rather it is also to deter the public from

driving impaired. To do this, the checkpoint must be

well publicized, and the public must fear the consequences of driving impaired. Because of this, the

Region 3 States bolstered their enforcement activities

with extensive media efforts including radio, television,

newspapers, and billboards. Some States relied on

earned media, while other States also paid for commercial air time. During the time period studied, all the

States used the unifying theme of Checkpoint Strikeforce. 

You Drink & Drive. You Lose.

The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE)

conducted a study for NHTSAto evaluate the effectiveness of the Checkpoint Strikeforce program.

Methods

The researchers collected data throughout the region

on the number of sobriety checkpoints or other DWI

enforcement efforts, media activities, and the public’s

awareness of the program. Each State’s motor vehicle fatality data was also analyzed and compared to

previous years before the program, and to the rest of

the country.

Results

Each jurisdiction in the region exceeded its commitment of one checkpoint per week. By 2004, more than

900 checkpoints were conducted across the region.

Public awareness surveys were conducted in driver

licensing offices in Delaware, Maryland, and West

Virginia. The results indicated possible shifts in the

desired direction in terms of self-reported drinking and

driving behavior and perceptions of impaired driving

enforcement, particularly checkpoints. However, not all

of the results were as positive as desired. For example,

although awareness of the Checkpoint Strikeforce slogan

increased significantly after the program began, most

drivers did not recognize the program’s name. Overall,

the survey results indicated that much more needs to be

done to raise the public’s awareness of the checkpoint

program and the consequences of driving impaired.
A direct measure of drinking and driving behavior are

the blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of drivers.

The researchers gathered voluntary breath test data

from drivers in Delaware and Virginia passing through

sobriety checkpoints in 2004 and 2005. In both these

jurisdictions there were statistically significant reductions in the proportion of drivers with BACs over .05

g/dL in 2005 compared to 2004.

PIREalsoanalyzeddatafrom1991to2004fromNHTSA’s

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) to examine

alcohol-positive drivers involved in fatal crashes. There

was a regionwide 7% decrease in these drivers associated with the implementation of the Checkpoint Strikeforce program, compared to the rest of the United States.

Each State was also analyzed individually. When West

Virginia’s data was compared to the rest of the country,

it indicated a decrease of nearly 17%.

Conclusions

TheCheckpoint Strikeforce program illustrated forthe first

time that a sustained, true,regionwide impaired driving

checkpoint program can be implemented. In the past,

many enforcement agencies have been hesitant to conduct more than a few checkpoints a year. Although the

public awareness and fatality crash results were not as

strong as hoped, there were some changes in the desired

direction. However, there may have been contributing factors beyond the program. In the future, continued and greater attention should be paid to increasing

enforcement intensity, visibility, and media coverage.

The Checkpoint Strikeforce program continues across

NHTSA’s Region 3.

How to Order

To orderthe report, “Evaluation of the Checkpoint Strikeforce Program” (61 pages), prepared by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, write to the Office

of Behavioral Safety Research, NHTSA, NTI-130, 1200

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, fax

202-366-7394, or download from www.nhtsa.gov. This

report also contains 98 pages of appendices, which are

only available on the Web site. Amy Berning was the

project manager for this study.

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 Dr. Angela Eichelberger,

Editor: fax 202-366-7394, or e-mail angela.eichelberger@dot.gov.

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., NTI-130

Washington, DC 20590