The Reform & Responsibility Tour Provides Solutions to End Impaired Driving

NADCP’s National Center for DWI Courts has wrapped a four city Reform & Responsibility Tour highlighting proven solutions aimed at ending impaired driving. Sponsored by the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), the Reform & Responsibility Tour brought together a cadre of experts to showcase collaborative partnerships, cutting-edge research, and the best evidence-based technology for assessing, treating, and supervising repeat impaired-driving offenders.

“It is time that we recognize the significant role addiction plays in causing impaired driving, and focus resources on getting people into treatment while holding them accountable,” said NCDC Director Jim Eberspacher. “Solutions exist for lowering the number of deaths and crashes attributed to impaired driving, the Reform & Responsibility Tour provided actionable recommendations to take full advantage of them. We are grateful for the support of Responsibility.org, an organization that has been a critical leader on this issue for over two decades.”

NCDC wishes to thank Responsibility.org for their generous support of the Reform & Responsibility Tour.

We also wish to thank all speakers for their invaluable expertise and insight.

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Reform & Responsibility Tour Speakers

Guest Speakers

Brandy Nannini, Responsibility.org

Erin Holmes, Responsibility.org

Ali Edelstein, Kentucky Distillers’ Association

Rob Frederick, Brown-Forman

Attorney General Andy Beshear, Kentucky Office of the AG

Heather French Henry, KY Dept. of Veterans Affairs

Glenn Davis, Colorado DOT

Christine Flavia, CO Office of Behavioral Health

Thain Bell, Denver District Attorney’s Office

Jennifer Cifaldi, Univ of Illinois Springfield/IL DOT

Shannon Alderman, Illinois DOT

Emily York, Beam Suntory

Chief Kevin Lystad, Miami Shores PD/Florida Police Chiefs Association

Jennifer DeWitt, Bacardi U.S.A.

Donte Stallworth

Tara Casanova Powell

Patricia Sams, Peeps in Recovery

Dr. Kenneth Robinson

Mark Stodola

Dr. Carlos Quezada-Gomez

The tour made stops in Louisville, Kentucky; Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and Miami, Florida. Policy recommendations included:

Screen and Assess all DUI offenders

Screening and assessment can identify drivers likely to become repeat offenders and ensure they are placed into the appropriate intervention, level of supervision to hold them accountable and receive individualized evidence-based treatment.

Expand DWI courts

Drug courts can be found in every state, however DWI Courts are still emerging as a targeted solution for impaired drivers. DWI courts adapt the drug court model to serve repeat DWI offenders with substance use and mental health disorders.

Research on the combination of accountability and treatment found in DWI courts shows that these courts are the most successful way to reduce impaired driving, decreasing recidivism by as much as 60 percent. And they do this while saving taxpayers money: an incredible $3.19 for every $1 invested.

Evidence-based supervision and technology

Ignition interlock has been found to reduce repeat drunk driving by about two-thirds. Unfortunately, despite the passage of this legislation in many states, this technology is often underutilized.

Supervision can also include continuous alcohol monitoring (CAM) technology, which has become a critical tool for ensuring compliance. In real time, CAM monitors alcohol consumption and relays data back to law enforcement. Research has found the use of CAM improves enforcement of abstinence orders and is more effective than random testing.

Supervision and technology should be used in conjunction with assessment and appropriate treatment interventions that target individual needs.

NADCP’s Melissa Fitzgerald, former NFL star Donte Stallworth, DWI Court graduate Patricia Sams and NCDC Director Jim Eberspacher at the tour stop in Miami, FL.

NADCP’s Melissa Fitzgerald discusses the role of screening and assessment with Responsibility.org’s Erin Holmes and American Probation and Parole Association’s Mark Stodola during a tour stop in Denver, CO.

NCDC Director Jim Eberspacher presents on DWI Courts during a tour stop in Louisville, KY.

“My administration is focused on addressing the persistent challenges our Kentucky families face, the most critical of which is Kentucky’s drug epidemic. Working with the National Center for DWI Courts Reform & Responsibility Tour was a tremendous effort to raise awareness. Through partnerships like this, we can inform our communities about solutions that reduce the risk of our families, our friends, or our children being harmed by a driver under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.” – Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear