Alcohol policy and the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving: the paths not taken

The Report of the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving represents a major federal response to the extraordinary success of a grassroots movement to combat drunk driving. The Report, despite the wide support and publicity that it generated, is seriously flawed. It relies primarily on strategies that are directed at individual behavior change--e.g. education, deterrence, treatment, and publicity campaigns. Research shows that these strategies, standing alone, have only a minimal long-term impact on the drunk driving problem. The Report fails to consider important new research on environmental factors affecting drunk driving, notably alcohol availability, price and tax policies, server intervention programs, alcohol advertising and transportation policies. These environmental strategies are a critical part of a comprehensive prevention policy and can greatly enhance the individual-based strategies relied on in the Commission Report.