Citation

Nirenberg TD, Baird J, Mello MJ, Longabaugh R. Med. Health R. I. 2009; 92(6): 196-199.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA. tnirenberg@lifespan.org

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Rhode Island Medical Society)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19634619

Abstract

The established association between prior driving offenses, particularly alcohol-related offenses, and increased risk for an MVC2,3 points to the potential benefit of an intervention to reduce high-risk driving behaviors. The Reducing Youthful Dangerous Driving Program (RYDD) was implemented in 2001 as a demonstration project for young drivers receiving high-risk driving offenses. This program was established with the cooperation and support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Rhode Island Office of Highway Safety, Department of Transportation and Judicial Office. Judges were encouraged to sentence young drivers with high-risk driving offenses to RYDD as a community service component of the court’s disposition. This 16-hour program had two integrated components: four intervention groups based on motivational interviewing (MI) and two sessions observing in the emergency and trauma services at a level 1 trauma center.

We assessed the change in the numbers of traffic offenses during the 12 months before and after completion of RYDD.

Most notably, a significant reduction in court-recorded driving offenses over the 12-month period following RYDD was observed. The RYDD recidivism rate for any traffic offenses is less than that expected from receiving no intervention, and the rates for recidivism for an alcohol-related offense are less than those expected from receiving an educational intervention. These results suggest that attendance of court-referred youth to a program tailored to address high risk behaviors may be a factor in reducing the probability of having a future driving offense.

Open access: www.rimed.org/medhealthri/2009-06/2009-06-197.pdf

Language: en