NEWS RELEASE -
Most first-time offenders for driving while intoxicated need help for more than just alcohol


Public release date: 26-Mar-2007

Contact: Rebekka S. Palmer, Ph.D.

rebekka.palmer@yale.edu
203-781-2777, ext. 144
Yale University School of Medicine

Mary E. Larimer, Ph.D.
larimer@u.washington.edu
206-543-3513
University of Washington

Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research

Most first-time offenders for driving while intoxicated need help for more than just alcohol

Most first-time offenders for driving while intoxicated need help for more than just alcohol

• Driving while intoxicated (DWI) is a significant public-health problem in the US.
• New findings indicate that many first-time DWI offenders also have high rates of other substance-use disorders as well as other psychiatric disorders.
• Intervention programs may need to provide enhanced services to help this more severe subtype of DWI offenders.

Driving while intoxicated (DWI) is a significant public-health problem in the US. In 2005, according to the Department of Transportation, there were 16,885 alcohol-related fatalities; roughly 40 percent of all fatal car accidents are alcohol-related.

New findings indicate that because most first-time DWI offenders also have high rates of other substance-use disorders as well as other psychiatric disorders, intervention programs may need to provide enhanced services to help this more severe subtype of DWI offenders.

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