Temporary vehicle impoundment in Ohio: a replication and confirmation

Driving while suspended by individuals who have been convicted of an impaired driving offense is a significant highway safety problem. Such offenders present four times the risk of involvement in a fatal crash at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.10. A previous report by the authors demonstrated that a vehicle immobilization program in Franklin County (Columbus), Ohio, significantly reduced driving-under-the-influence (DUI) recidivism rates for multiple DUI offenders. This study evaluated a somewhat different application of the same law in Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio, where vehicles were impounded rather than immobilized, and obtained similar results--a reduction in repeat DUI offenses by multiple offenders both while their vehicles were being held by the police and after they were returned to the offenders.