Press Release

Washington, D.C. —  Marking the first time that offenders were asked
what would make them stop driving drunk, The Century Council, a
not-for-profit organization funded by America's leading distillers and
dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking, announced
results of a recent, innovative survey to fight one of the most
dangerous sectors of the driving population: the hardcore drunk driver.

Ralph Blackman, President and CEO of The Century Council said, "Our
recent survey is interesting and innovative in that we went straight to
the drunk driving offenders to find out what they think and what would
make them stop. We learned that if drunk drivers received more severe
sanctions the first time they were arrested, they would be less likely
to drive drunk again. The Century Council has been working to rid our
nation's roads of drunk drivers, particularly hardcore drunk drivers,
for over fifteen years. We believe this survey will assist law
enforcement, judges, and policymakers in their efforts to stop drunk
driving."

Seventy-six percent of respondents said, prior to their last DUI
arrest, 1 year of mandatory jail time "definitely would have made me
stop drinking and driving," and 75% responded that a mandatory fine of
$10,000 would do the same. The potential of longer jail time and
stiffer fines increased the likelihood that DUI offenders would not
drive drunk again. Additionally, 70% of respondents said that ignition
interlocks would be an effective deterrent. While compliance with
ignition interlocks is often low, the threat of a heavy fine and
mandatory jail time could increase the installation and use of ignition
interlocks, thus making it an even more effective tool in the fight
against hardcore drunk drivers. A majority of respondents said that
court ordered assessments, mandatory treatment, and court ordered
community service regardless of the duration were tactics that were not
perceived to be a deterrent.

A majority of respondents (54%) said they would be "very likely" to
change their behavior to avoid being arrested and convicted of
subsequent drunk driving offenses if more severe sanctions had been
applied after their first DUI conviction.

Overall the survey revealed that law enforcement and the judicial
system are working. An overwhelming majority (95%) of DUI offenders
believe it is likely you will be arrested if you are stopped for drunk
driving; 75% believe arrest is very likely. Ninety-eight percent think
it is likely a driver arrested for drunk driving will be convicted; 82%
feel a drunk driving conviction is "very likely."

In an ironic twist, 80% of survey respondents said they worry about
other drivers who might be driving drunk. This suggests that these
drivers understand how dangerous their actions are and that there is a
dire need to find effective ways to keep drunk drivers, like
themselves, off the nation's roads.

Dr. Douglas Marlowe, Director of the Division on Law & Ethics
Research at the Treatment Research Institute at the University of
Pennsylvania added: "The Century Council's most recent survey for The
Hardcore Drunk Driver Research Project adds a unique and essential
perspective by obtaining feedback directly from the offenders
themselves who committed the crime. The findings have great potential
for forging effective prevention techniques, clinical interventions,
and policy solutions for the future."

Hardcore drunk drivers drive with a high blood alcohol concentration
(BAC) of 0.15 or above, do so repeatedly, as demonstrated by having
more than one drunk driving arrest, and are highly resistant to
changing their behavior despite previous sanctions, treatment, or
education efforts. Hardcore drunk drivers are responsible for 59% of
alcohol-related traffic fatalities and are 385 times more likely to be
involved in a crash than a non-drinking driver. Drivers with BAC levels
in excess of .15 are only one percent of all drivers on weekend nights;
however, they are involved in nearly 50 percent of all fatal crashes
during these times.

Respondents from the participating ten DUI Courts across the country
had a self-reported average of 3 drunk driving arrests and 2.6 drunk
driving convictions. The average blood alcohol concentration (BAC)
level for these drivers was nearly 0.17, more than twice the legal
limit.

The Century Council has played a leadership role in the identification
of the hardcore drunk driver problem and continues to develop effective
means to combat it. In 1997, The Council launched The National Hardcore
Drunk Driving Project, a single, comprehensive resource to assist
legislators, highway safety officials, law enforcement officers,
judges, prosecutors, community activists and treatment professionals to
develop programs that advocate swift identification, certain punishment
and effective treatment to reduce hardcore drunk driving.

In 2000 The National Coalition to Fight Hardcore Drunk Driving was
formed as an initiative to combine the resources of organizations in
this fight creating synergy in combating the hardcore drunk driver. The
Coalition includes The Century Council, the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB), and American Automobile Association (AAA). In
2004, working jointly with the National Association of State Judicial
Educators (NASJE) and other judicial organizations, The Century Council
released its Hardcore Drunk Driving Judicial Guide, a resource for
judges and judicial educators to help address the complexities in
courts of reducing drunk driving, in turn protecting the public from
these dangerous offenders.