Project Number:
08-23
Research Project:
Safety Concerns Associated with Drug-Using Drivers with Suspended or Revoked Driving Licenses
P.I. Name & Address:
Grace L. Reynolds
California State University at Long Beach
Department of Health Care Administration
Long Beach, CA 90840
Email: greynol2@csulb.edu
Website: http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/coe/ee/views/personnel/fulltime_emeritus/chang.shtml
Phone: (562) 985-5694
Fax: (562) 985-1421
Project Objective:
The problem of driving with a suspended or revoked license is linked in both research and policy with driving under the influence. While DUI has reportedly reached a plateau in recent years, driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is a growing problem. Research suggests that drivers who are DUID are more likely to continue the behavior compared to drivers who have been arrested for DUI.
The problem of DUID is further exacerbated by limitations on the ability of law enforcement to make a determination of DUID using enforcement methods, such as roadblocks and breathalyzer analysis that have been used successfully for deterrence of drinking alcohol and driving.
The assessment of DUID requires sophisticated blood tests which are not readily available for implementation on the highway and which do not provide instant results to law enforcement officers at the scene. Assessment of DUID in many cases must be done either in hospital emergency rooms where sophisticated tests are available when injured DUID individuals are treated, or by coroners who request toxicology screening to complete cause of death investigations. Understanding factors associated with driving with a suspended/revoked license, especially in individuals who are known to be current or former drug users, who report either driving license suspension or revocation, and who are at risk for DUID, can provide insights into public policy changes that may be adopted in urban areas to reduce the safety risks posed by driving with suspended or revoked licenses, especially if DUID.
The Center for Behavioral Research and Services (CBRS) has been conducting research and providing services to out-of-treatment drug users in the City of Long Beach since 1987. Since 2001 CBRS has worked to build a longitudinal data set of these current and former drug users for the purpose of analysis and dissemination of local data to address the problem of drug abuse in the Long Beach community. That data set includes data on over 3,000 unduplicated individuals who where interviewed while they were out of drug treatment and actively participating in the local drug culture, or who were interviewed while in drug treatment; as part of the data set, the Quality of Well-Being Scale, was obtained on a subset of them.
The QWB includes mobility data, including status of driving license (never received, current, suspended or revoked), use of cars for transportation (as either driver or passenger) and use of public transportation. These mobility data can be linked to other data including recent drug use and arrest and incarceration data for purposes of answering local questions concerning the safety risks posed by these individuals.
Task Descriptions
The tasks associated with the successful completion of this project include: reading the data from the File Maker Pro dataset into SAS for analysis, training the undergraduate and graduate student on using SAS to read and analyze the data, completion of a thorough review of the literature as it applies to drugged driving and individuals with suspended or revoked driving licenses, actual data analysis including generation of descriptive statistics, and fitting the final logistic regression models and testing the fit of the models. Tasks also include mandatory METRANS items such as required quarterly reports and the final project report.
Tasks and Schedule
1. Center for Behavioral Research and Services (CBRS) and Principal Investigator to make dataset available for analysis by project, including readying FileMaker Pro files into a combined dataset that can be analyzed using SAS software (2 weeks in August 2007)
2. Recruit two Health Care Administration students from courses taught every semester by the PI to participate in the project; hire the two students (2-6 weeks in August – September 2007)
3. Begin analysis of data to test hypotheses regarding suspended/revoked drivers and their driving and use of public transportation behavior as it relates to health issues, drug use and quality of life (October – December 2007)
4. Students conduct literature reviews for their respective analysis and presentation (October – December 2007)
5. Students learn/review data analysis techniques in SAS 9.1; each tests a different hypothesis (October – December 2007)
6. PI oversees student progress on analysis, literature reviews, and SAS programming (October 2007 – January 2008)
7. Graduate student completes thesis project (December 2007)
8. PI and student turn analysis into Powerpoint presentation (February 2008)
9. Undergraduate student presents findings at the CSULB Student Research Competition (2 days in March 2008)
10. Findings from both presentations and literature reviews turned into a manuscript (March – April 2008)
11. Manuscript submitted for publication and revised as necessary based on reviewer comments; prepare final report for METRANS (May – July 2008)
Milestones, Dates:
September 1, 2007 – August 31, 2008
Total Budget:
$33,110
Student Involvement:
One graduate student at 50% for 12 months
Relationship to Other Research Projects:
Related to 00-11; part of the safety, security, and vulnerability focus area
Technology Transfer Activities:
Project report will be posted soon
Potential Benefits of the Project:
Research could reduce the safety risks associated with driving with suspended or revoked licenses.
TRB Keywords:
Safety, DUI, DUID, Law Enforcement, Long Beach
