NTSB - Most Wanted

In 2005, there were 16,885 alcohol-related fatalities nationwide, based on data released by NHTSA.

The Safety Board made a series of recommendations in 1984 to address detecting, arresting, and adjudicating repeat offenders. Because thousands of deaths continue to occur involving individuals who drive while intoxicated, in 2000 the Board focused its efforts on hard core drinking drivers.

Hard core drinking drivers (repeat offender-drinking drivers with a prior driving-while-intoxicated [DWI] arrest or conviction within the past 10 years or offenders with a BAC of 0.15 percent or greater) pose an increased risk of crashes, injuries, and fatalities.

In 2005, hard core drinking drivers were involved in a minimum of 9,236 (54.7%) alcohol related fatalities, the estimated cost of which was over $9.1 billion.

The Board believes that a model program to reduce hard core drinking driving would incorporate the following elements: (1) statewide sobriety checkpoints; (2) vehicle sanctions to restrict or separate hard core drinking drivers from their vehicles; (3) State and community cooperative programs to enforce DWI driver’s license suspension and revocation; (4) legislation to require that DWI offenders maintain a zero BAC while operating a motor vehicle; (5) legislation that defines a high BAC (0.15 percent or greater) as an “aggravated” DWI offense; (6) alternatives to confinement, such as home detention with electronic monitoring; (7) legislation that restricts the plea bargaining of a DWI offense to a lesser, non-alcohol-related offense; (8) elimination of diversion programs that permit erasing, deferring, or otherwise purging the DWI offense record or that allow the offender to avoid license suspension; (9) administrative license revocation (ALR) for BAC test failure and refusal; (10) a DWI record retention and DWI offense enhancement look-back period of at least 10 years; and (11) individualized sanction programs for hard core DWI offenders.

Safety Recommendation

H-00-26 (the States and the District of Columbia)
Issued August 7, 2000
Added to the Most Wanted list: 2003
Status: Open—Acceptable Response
Establish a comprehensive program that is designed to reduce the incidence of alcohol-related crashes, injuries, and fatalities caused by hard core drinking drivers and that includes elements such as those suggested in the National Transportation Safety Board’s Model Program. (Source: 2000 Safety Report on Actions to Reduce Fatalities, Injuries, and Crashes Involving the Hard Core Drinking Driver [NTSB/SR-00/01])

Summary of Action

Since the Safety Board’s recommendation was issued, all States have considered legislation related to the Board’s recommendation, and at least 28 States and the District of Columbia have adopted one or more elements of the model program. No State has all of the elements recommended in the Board’s model program; however, five States (CA, NH, OH, UT, and VA) have made sufficient progress for closure.

Thirty-nine States (AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MS, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, VA, and WV) and the District of Columbia authorize sobriety checkpoints (element 1), but not all States conduct sobriety checkpoints with the same frequency.

Forty-nine States and the District of Columbia have some form of vehicle sanction, but only six States (FL, IA, KS, MS, OH, and OR) have at least four of the five vehicle sanctions (element 2) mentioned in the Board’s model program.

The Board had identified three States (LA, NE, and OH) that use “hot sheet” programs (1) to identify DWI offenders who may drive on a suspended or revoked license (element 3). Maine has an acceptable alternative, an on-line suspended driver search service. South Carolina also has an acceptable alternative, a statute that requires the licensing agency to release on a monthly basis the names and addresses of individuals whose licenses were suspended for DWI offenses. The “hot sheet” program is now being promoted in all States by NHTSA.

Eleven States (CA, ME, MD, MN, MT, NH, NC, PA, UT, VA, and WI) have established a BAC requirement below the 0.08 limit for certain circumstances, such as driving while suspended after convicted of impaired driving or after multiple impaired driving convictions (element 4). Five States (CA, ME, NH, UT, and VA) meet the Safety Board’s recommended low BAC of 0.00 or 0.02 after the first conviction for impaired driving.

Aggravated offense or “high BAC” laws exist today in 42 States and the District of Columbia (element 5), with 30 States meeting the Safety Board–specified level of 0.15/0.16 percent as the definition of a high BAC. Seventeen States (AK, AZ, AR, CA, DE, HI, IL, KS, MD, MO, MT, NE, NV, PA, TX, UT, and VA) have adopted some form of a high-BAC law or have strengthened an existing high-BAC law since the Board’s recommendation was issued.

States (AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, and WI) have alternatives to confinement (element 6).

Twenty-six States (AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, HI, IA, KS, KY, MN, MS, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, SD, UT, WA, and WY) have plea-bargaining restrictions (element 7).

Twenty-seven States (AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KY, ME, MN, MT, NE, NV, NH, ND, OH, RI, SC, TN, UT, VA, WV, and WI) either do not have diversion programs or prohibit DWI offenders from participating in diversion programs (element 8).

Forty States (AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MN, MS, MO, NE, NV, NH, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, and WY) and the District of Columbia authorize ALR (element 9).

Twenty-five States (AK, CT, IL, IA, KS, LA, ME, MA, MN, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV, and WI) and the District of Columbia have a records retention period and look-back period of 10 years or longer (element 10).

Thirty-four States (AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, and WY) have established individualized sanction programs for hard core DWI offenders (element 11).

In 2007, at least 16 States (AL, CA, CT, FL, KY, ME, MI, MO, MT, NJ, OR, PA, SD, TN, TX, and WY) considered bills related to hard core drinking driver program elements. Kansas implemented an element of the hard core drinking driving recommendation, although 6 other States (AZ, HI, IL, LA, NM, and SC) strengthened elements that they had already implemented.

Six States (ID, MI, MT, RI, VT, and WY) and the District of Columbia have fewer than four elements of the model program.

Forty-four States and the District of Columbia have fewer than four vehicle sanctions. These measures include ignition interlocks, license plate action (impoundment, confiscation, or other actions), vehicle immobilization, vehicle impoundment, and vehicle forfeiture.

Forty-five States and the District of Columbia have not established special programs to identify drivers operating on a suspended or revoked license.

Forty-five States and the District of Columbia do not require a zero or minimal (“low”) BAC for convicted DWI offenders.

Twenty States and the District of Columbia have not adopted an “aggravated” BAC law that is consistent with the Safety Board’s recommended BAC level.

Ten States and the District of Columbia have not developed alternatives to jail incarceration for DWI offenders.

Twenty-four States and the District of Columbia have not enacted laws pertaining to DWI offenders that either prohibit plea bargaining to non-alcohol-related offenses or require that the records include information on the original alcohol-related offense.

Twenty-three States and the District of Columbia have not eliminated diversion as an option for DWI offenders, allowing the records of offenders to be erased.

Twenty-five States have not established a look-back period of at least 10 years, with appropriate records retention.

Sixteen States and the District of Columbia have not authorized individualized sanction programs or an alternative, such as special DWI courts, for DWI offenders.

1 Hot Sheet stands for “habitual offender tally sheet,” is a special enforcement program where the State licensing agency, on a regular basis, provides lists of drivers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked for alcohol-related offenses. Law enforcement agencies then use these lists to identify drivers who subsequently operate vehicles without a license.