State drunk driving laws that allow the immediate suspension of a driver's license for failing a breath test save 800 lives a year and serves as a deterrent to driving while intoxicated, according to a comprehensive, 26-year study. States that allow licenses to be suspended only after a DUI conviction, have little noticeable deterrent effect on drunk driving, the study found.

"The threat of immediate suspension of the driver's license is a larger deterrent than the threat of more severe penalties that may occur at a later date. It has reduced fatalities from car crashes involving light, moderate and heavy drinkers," said study lead author Alexander C. Wagenaar, Ph.D., in a news release.

The study, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Substance Abuse Research Program (SAPRP), examined monthly fatal alcohol-related traffic crashes from January 1976 to December 2002 in 46 states in which DUI laws had been changed.

Researchers compared fatal crashes in states with immediate suspensions with those states with post-conviction suspensions only.

A Widespread Deterrent Effect

"Laws that allow a police officer to immediately suspend the license of a driver who fails a breath test have a deterrent effect across the entire population. This effect can be seen among individuals who have had just one or two drinks, among those who may have had a 6-pack of beer, and among those who may have consumed a dozen or more drinks," Wagenaar said.

According to the study, 17 percent of U.S. adult drivers report driving after drinking each year and more than 17,000 individuals are killed in alcohol-related crashes per year.

There are only nine states that still do not have immediate license revocation laws. They are: Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Tennessee.

The study was published in the August 2007 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

More About Drunk Driving:

• Immediate License Suspension Saves 800 Lives Each Year
  Drunk Driving Email Course
  
• State by State Drunk Driving Laws
  
• The Penalties and Costs of Drunk Driving
  
• Alcohol Evaluation Quiz

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