Many Drunk Drivers Not Prosecuted, Study Finds

A private research group reported Sunday that inadequate testing procedures permit many drunken drivers to escape prosecution after fatal accidents, and urged state laws requiring blood tests to be performed on all drivers involved in fatal crashes.

A report issued by the Washington-based Crime Control Institute said Transportation Department statistics showed that 55% of the 31,916 drivers who survived the 39,622 fatal accidents that occurred nationwide in 1984 were never tested for alcohol abuse. Altogether, 57,568 drivers were involved in accidents that killed 44,241 people.

In the absence of nationwide figures, the report reviewed Minnesota statistics compiled by a state task force showing that, of 774 Minnesota drivers involved in fatal accidents in 1984, 34% had been drinking, and that a fourth of this group had prior license revocations for alcohol-related offenses. Unlike many other states, Minnesota forbids plea bargaining in drunken driving cases.

Statistics Questioned

The study questioned the validity of the Transportation Department’s fatal accident reporting system, which produced a 1986 estimate that fatalities attributable to drunk driving had declined from 46% of motor vehicle deaths in 1982 to 41% in 1985.

Until 1985, the department’s estimates were based on tests made on deceased drivers in 15 states, including California, which consistently provided test results on at least 84% of dead drivers--but not on the 55% who survived. This year, the department is using a revised method which, the report said, assumes that alcohol involvement is equally likely in tested and untested drivers.

Holding that “it is simply not possible to generate a reliable estimate of drunk driving fatalities with the current low rates of testing,” the Crime Control Institute report said available statistics are suspect because testing procedures vary widely from state to state.

Testing of Survivors

Although laws on the books in 40 states required alcohol testing of all fatally injured drivers, the report said that in 1983, only Delaware required testing of fatally injured drivers. It said Delaware and Vermont alone required testing of all surviving drivers. By contrast, the report said, Texas reported testing less than 2% of fatally injured drivers and Florida tested only 4%. It said California tested 86.5% of 2,487 fatally injured drivers.

“In order to improve our national efforts to prosecute and punish drunk drivers involved in fatal accidents, and to deter drunk driving generally, universal testing of drivers in fatal accidents should be adopted as soon as possible,” the report said.

Although it may be argued that compulsory testing of drivers who show no sign of impairment is an intrusion on individual privacy and an added shock for individuals suffering, the report contended that failure to test “favors the surviving drivers over others who may be killed by them in the future.”

The report recommended that all state legislatures enact laws requiring testing of all drivers involved in fatal accidents, permanently revoking the licenses of drivers who refuse such tests and requiring their prosecution.