P12 Law Enforcement Involvement and Traffic Safety Effectiveness: Findings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration׳s (NHTSA)׳s 2013 Countermeasures That Work

Abstract

BackgroundRoad traffic injuries are the eighth-leading cause of death globally, and the leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 29 years. Conventional approaches to traffic safety interventions in the United States are based on the three pillars of engineering, enforcement, and education. Law enforcement has gained popularity in traffic safety as a result of high-visibility enforcement campaigns. However, there is mixed evidence for the effectiveness of law enforcement interventions in reducing motor vehicle crashes. This study seeks to evaluate the role of law enforcement in countermeasure effectiveness. MethodsData from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration׳s (NHTSA) 2013 Countermeasures That Work was examined. Countermeasures were coded by an expert reviewer to indicate whether the countermeasure required any law enforcement involvement to implement. NHTSA rated each countermeasure on a one- to five-star scale in terms of effectiveness. The NHTSA-rated effectiveness of countermeasures and involvement of law enforcement were cross-tabulated. Spearman׳s rho was calculated to assess the magnitude of the association between law enforcement involvement in a countermeasure and its rated effectiveness. ResultsThere were a total of 116 countermeasures rated. The expert coder indicated that 43% of total countermeasures required law enforcement involvement to implement. Of the countermeasures with law enforcement involvement, 43% were rated 4 or 5 stars. In contrast, 19% of countermeasures that did not involve law enforcement were rated 4 or 5 stars. The effectiveness ratings of programs tended to be higher for programs that had law enforcement involvement than those that did not, Spearman׳s ⍴=.30, p=.002. ConclusionsActing on traffic safety interventions is part of the larger process of building healthy communities while reducing unnecessary morbidity and mortality. This evaluation of the evidence suggests that countermeasures that involve law enforcement tend to be more effective than those that do not. Further analyses will be conducted to examine associations between the type of road safety issue addressed by the countermeasure, the rated effectiveness of the countermeasure, the role of legislation in countermeasure implementation, and possible interactions between legislation and enforcement on program-rated effectiveness.