Policy recommendations to address drunk driving and drugged driving in Massachusetts

Based on the best available evidence, DPH recommends the following interventions to better understand and reduce drunk driving and drugged driving in the Commonwealth:

• Expand and promote sentencing programs operated by the DPH Bureau of Substance Addiction Services that serve as alternatives to loss of license or incarceration for those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.
• Expand and promote the use of bedside screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for substance use disorders for drivers being treated for crash-related injuries and concerted follow-up efforts to connect those identified as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs to services.
• Develop alternative transportation options for people with suspended licenses.
• Enact  all-offender Ignition Interlock legislation.
• Provide additional outreach to high-risk populations in drunk driving and drugged driving prevention programs and public awareness campaigns.
• Evaluate the judicial process to better understand how drunk driving and drugged driving cases are adjudicated, especially cases involving drivers hospitalized for crash-related injuries, given the low rate at which such drivers are convicted of or admit to drunk or drugged driving.
• Sustain the MA Crash-Related Injury Surveillance System (MA CRISS) for use in analyzing and disseminating data related to drunk driving and drugged driving.