Effects of administrative license revocation on employment

This study addresses the impact of administrative license revocation (ALR) on the employment and income of first and multiple drunk-driving (DUI) offenders. It also inquires into the impact of alcohol-related crashes on the employment of other persons involved in such crashes (i.e. innocent drivers, passengers and pedestrians). Questionnaires were completed by 579 first-time offenders and 233 multiple offenders at alcohol education schools and treatment programs in four counties in four states, which represented varying ALR laws: Chester County, PA (without ALR); Anne Arundel County, MD (ALR with immediate hardship license available); Marin County, CA (30-day hard license suspension); and New Castle County, DE (90-day hard license suspension). Completed crash ‘victim’ surveys were returned by 146 crash victims from Pennsylvania, California and Delaware. The study found that ALR does not have a major impact on the DUI offender's job and income. Alcohol-involved crashes can have a great impact on seriously injured victims, but the proportion of DUI crashes producing serious injury is quite low. Most DUI is crash-free, and most crashes do not involve injury. The vast bulk of the impact of DUI events falls on the offenders rather than innocent victims.