JBMT

JBMT Consultation 65 South Main Street Newark, DE 19711 Phone: 302-837-0027

April 18, 2009

Governor Jack Markell Carvel State Office Bldg. 820 N. French Street, 12th Fl. Wilmington, DE 19801

Dear Governor Markell:

Thank you for inquiring with JBMT Consultation about helping to solve the ongoing issue of alcohol related accidents in the state of Delaware. We have enclosed our proposal to show how JBMT plans to find a solution to decrease the number of alcohol related accidents in Delaware.

The proposal outlines our procedure to assess the problem, so that we are able to come up with a solution to reduce the amount of alcohol related accidents. It also includes the budget for this project and the projected timeline.

If you have any more questions relating to the proposal, feel free to call me. All of us at JBMT Consulatation are excited about the possibility to work on this upcoming project with you.

Sincerely,

Brittany Christie Customer Relations Director

Enclosure - Proposal


 * __PROPOSAL__**

The Governor of Delaware has issued a request for proposals to address the issue of alcohol related driving accidents throughout the state. JBMT Consultation believes that we can successfully research this problem in order to find a solution to decrease the amount of alcohol related accidents in Delaware. 
 * INTRODUCTION**

According to the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, in 2007 41% of all accident fatalities in Delaware are alcohol related. Furthermore, 37% of those fatalities involve individuals between 21 and 37 years old, and 82% of those individuals were male. While the alcohol related fatalities rate decreased from 42% to 41% over the past year, it is still too high. Driving while impaired is still a very serious problem that the state of Delaware faces, so action needs to be taken to prevent drinking and driving.
 * BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM**


 * OBJECTIVES**
 * Reduce alcohol related driving fatalities by at least 5% within the first year
 * Reduce the number of alcohol related accidents
 * Decrease the amount of DUI's by 10%
 * Encourage harsher pentalties for those driving while impaired


 * PROCEDURE**

1. Further analyze Delaware's current driving statistics dealing with the amount of alcohol related accidents to get a better focus on the problem 2. Research what programs Delaware implements to prevent drinking and driving and see if they are effective 3. Conduct research comparing Delaware to other states with similar population densities that have lower alcohol related accidents. 4. Research actions that surrounding states such as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland have taken to prevent drinking and driving 5. Analyze our research to come up with solutions to decrease the amount of DUI's in Delaware 6. Compose a report to present to you the most effective ways for Delaware to reduce the rate of alcohol related accidents
 * Determine where and when the most DUI's occur and who is responsible for them
 * We will also look into the current penalties of driving under the influence in DE and determine if they are severe enough
 * This research will find out what kind of things the states with lower alcohol related accidents did to decrease thier rate.
 * This will cause the rate of alcohol related accidents in DE to decrease as well

We will conduct all of our research through state government websites in order to get the most accurate and up to date information.

JBMT Consultation has been continuously ranked one of the top consulting firms by Vault. We have been very prominent in the consulting industry for the past 20 years, and we continue to receive a lot of interest from consulting job seekers. Most recently, we have successfully helped the Washington DC region implement a program that decreased alcohol related driving fatalities by nearly 7%.
 * RECORD OF SERVICE**

The budget will consist of the costs incurred for the research and the proposed solutions provided by JBMT. We charge $1,000 for each week spent on the project, and we will need about three weeks to complete this. The total cost for our services will be $3000. You may have to spend additional money to implement our proposed solutions. 
 * BUDGET**

**SCHEDULE**
 * //Week of April 27th://
 * Research the current problem of alcohol related accidents in DE
 * Research solutions that DE has come up with in the past to address this ongoing problem
 * Compare the alcohol related accident rate in DE to similar populated states
 * Analyze what has been done to prevent drinking and driving in states with lower rates
 * Research the effectiveness of programs that have been implemented in surrounding states to prevent drinking and driving
 * //Week of May 4th://
 * Analyze research to come up with solutions to lower the number of D.U.I.'s and alcohol related accidents in Delaware
 * //Week of May 11th://
 * Write up a complete report to present our solution


 * __FRONT MATTER__

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL** JBMT Consultation 65 South Main Street Newark, DE 19711 Phone: 302-837-0027

May 12, 2009

Governor Jack Markell Carvel State Office Building 820 N. French Street, 12th Floor Wilmington, DE 19801

Dear Governor Jack Markell:

Enclosed is JBMT Consultation's How to Decrease the Alcohol Related Accident and Fatility Rates Report for the state of Delaware. The report analyzes Delaware's current driving rates related to alcohol and our suggestions on how to effectively reduce those rates in Delaware.

Through state government websites, we analyzed DUI rates, prevention programs, and laws in surrounding states and in states with similar population densities to come up with our recommendations.

We sincerely hope that this report will provide you with the information necessary to assess the current situation of alcohol related accidents in Delaware and to vastly improve the safety of the roads, the citizens, and our commonwealth. Please do not hesitate to contact JBMT Consultation if you have any questions about the report.

Sincerely,

Trevor Draper Assistant Director

TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY** The amount of fatal accidents caused by people driving under the influence in the state of Delaware is shocking. The fact these fatal accidents could have been prevented has lead many state including the state of Delaware to research ways that they can stop people from driving under the influence. The state of Delaware hired JBMT to come up with way to lower Delaware's accident fatalities related to alcohol. JBMT began to research this problem by first looking at Delaware's current statistics involving DUI's, Delaware's current programs to prevent DUI's, and Delaware's current punishments for receving a DUI. We did this by looking at Delaware's Office of Highway Safety website, and at Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles website. After we gained an understanding on what Delaware does involing DUI's we decided to compare Delaware's systems to other states. JBMT thought it would be a good idea to research states with similar densities, and the surrounding states' DUI policies to compare with Delaware's policies. By looking at the policies of other states, we were able to come up with more recommendations that Delaware can use in their new program to lower alcohol related driving fatalities. We suggest that Delaware should use high visible enforcement, develop a plan for the entire state that aims to reduce alcohol related accidents and fatalities, create an organization that works with the state to put preventative measures against drunk driving in place, harshen DUI consequences, and set up more DUI checkpoints.
 * TITLE PAGE

These suggestions to Delaware's current program involving DUI's would lower the amount of alcohol related driving fatalies in the state of Delaware. JBMT believes this program will be able to reduce alcohol related driving fatalities in the state of Delaware by 5% in the first year, and decrease the number of DUI's by 10%. This, in turn, would lead to safer roads for the citizens of Delaware.

The purpose of this report is to research different ways in which we could reduce alcohol related driving fatalities in the state of Delaware by 5% in the first full year, Reduce the number of alcohol related accidents, decrease the amount of DUI's by 10% and encourage harsher penalties for those driving while impaired.
 * INTRODUCTION**

According to the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, 41% of all accident fatalities in Delaware are alcohol related. Furthermore, 37% of those fatalities involve individuals between 21 and 37 years old, and 82% of those individuals were male. While the alcohol related fatalities rate decreased from 42% to 41% over the past year, it is still too high. Driving while impaired is still a very serious problem that the state of Delaware faces. What is more shocking about these numbers is Delaware is currently ranked third out of any state in alcohol related fatalities

A major problem with the number of alcohol related accidents, aside from the fatalities, is the tremendous monetary costs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Alcohol related crashes in Delaware cost the public an estimated .2 billion dollars and almost .2 biliion in quality of life losses in 2007(Define). Clearly, there is tremendous incentives for us to come up with reasons to solve the major problem.

As a Consultating Firm we explored many options and came up with different ways to:
 * Reduce alcohol related driving fatalities by at least 5% within the first year
 * Reduce the number of alcohol related accidents
 * Decrease the amount of DUI's by 10% se
 * Encourage harsher pentalties for those driving while impaired

In this report we will talk about How we conducted our research, How we analyzed the research, and what conclusions we made from the research to achieve the four objectives stated above.

National Drunk Driving Car Crash Statistics (2007) -fatality rates

 * PROCEDURE AND RESULTS**

As a consulting firm, we needed to do a lot of research to find out exactly what steps needed to be taken to decrease the number of DUI's in the state of Delaware. We thought that the most important things to research would be: what Delaware's current DUI statistics are, what the current penalties for a DUI in Delaware are, what Delaware has done in the past to stop DUIs, what the states surrounding Delaware do to prevent DUIs, and what states with similar population densities to Delaware do to prevent DUIs.

We researched Delaware's current driving statistics related to alcohol by using the Delaware Office of Highway Safety website. On this website it stated that in 2006, close to 6,000 people were arrested in the state of Delaware for a DUI. In 2007, there were 118 fatalities from automobile accidents, with 41% of these fatalities a result of people driving under the influence. The distribution of the percentage of alcohol related death in different counties in the state of Delaware are as follows:
 * Current DUI Statistics in Delaware**

insert a pie graph here showing 52% in New Castle, 15% in Kent, and 32% in Sussex

When researching exactly who is behind the wheel for most Delaware DUI's, we also used the Delaware Office Of Highway Safety website. This website informed us that 70% of all DUI arrests in Delaware come from first time offenders. It is confirmed that the average DUI offender in Delaware is a white male, between the ages of 21 and 37. White males between the ages of 25 and 29, however, are most likely to be involved in a DUI crash. The time that most alcohol related traffic deaths occur are between 8:00 pm and 4:00 am on Friday and Saturday nights.

To find out what Delaware did in the past to prevent drunk driving and what Delaware's current DUI penalties are we used the Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles and the Delaware Office of Highway Safety websites to conduct our research. After looking through the website we came to the conclusion that the punishment for a DUI in Delaware can be described by the table below. The punishment is more harsh if the person is put in the "First Offenders Program." The DMV website from the state of Delaware states that a person will be put in the "First Offenders Program" if they have had "three or more moving violations within two years; injured someone else in an accident; had a BAC of .15% or more; was driving while not licensed, or while their license was revoked or suspended; or was transporting a child" (dmv.de.gov). The punishments for people who get a DUI under the "First Offenders Program" can be found in the graph below. ~fines of $230-$1,150 ~imprisonment of not more then 6 months || ~fines of $575-$2,300 ~mandatory imprisonment for 60 days to 18 months || To find out what Delaware did in the past to try and fix the drunk driving problem, we used the state of Delaware Office of Highway Safety website. The two main things that Delaware did to prevent drunk driving were Checkpoint Strikeforce, and the Delaware Safe Rides Program. -involves weekly checkpoints statewide from late June through New Year's holiday weekends, and then monthly checkpoints from January through June  -program has been in effect for 7 years || -one volunteer drives the impaired driver while the other volunteer drives the impaired driver's car home -number of safe rides are given out at different bars and nightclubs in Delaware || The state of Delaware website concluded that as a result of the Checkpoint Strikeforce there were 108 DUI arrests at the checkpoints in 2002, and in 2007 there were 665 DUI arrests at the checkpoints. In the 2nd year of the Delaware Safe Rides program, they provided 472 rides for impaired drivers.
 * DUI Punishment and Prevention in Delaware**
 * **Offense** || **Punishment** ||
 * 1st || 3 months license lost ||
 * 2nd || 12 months license lost ||
 * 3rd || 18 or more months license lost ||
 * **Offense** || **Punishment** ||
 * 1st offense || ~12-24 months revocation of license
 * Multiple offenses || ~24-60 months revocation of license
 * **Program** || **What program did** ||
 * Checkpoint Strikeforce || - regional sobriety checkpoint campaign aimed at arresting DUI offenders and preventing people from driving drunk
 * Delaware Safe Rides || - operates using volunteers from the University of Delawares Greek organizations to provide safe rides to impaired drivers on Friday and Saturday 

To gather our research for the information comparing Delaware to states with similar population densities, we found after researching state population densities that the two states with the most comparable population densities to Delaware are New York and Florida. The population densities are as follows: according to the united states census bureau: Also, we found another website (National Drunk Driving Statistics) that contained the number of alcohol related crashes, the number of crashes that resulted in deaths and the percentage of fatalities per crash. The information showed that although Delaware had far less crashes because of its significantly lesser population, its fatality rate per crash was higher than both states. 42.7% of fatalities from car accidents were alcohol related in Delaware. Comparably, New York had a rate of 28.8% and Florida's rate was 27.7%. After discovering these results, we researched different programs implemented in Florida and New York that may account for less fatalities in each crash or less crashes altogether.
 * DUIs in States with Similar Population Densities**
 * **State** || **Population Density** ||
 * Delaware || 442.6 Persons per square mile ||
 * New York || 408.7 Persons per square mile ||
 * Florida || 338.4 Persons per square mile ||

In all three states we found that they contained the following prevention measures:
 * Administrative License Revocation:** Laws that allow police or driver licensing authorities to revoke a driver’s license swiftly and automatically for refusing or failing a BAC test
 * Zero Tolerance Law**: make it illegal for persons under 21 to drive with a positive BAC
 * Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA):** All three have a minimum legal drinking age of 21
 * Graduated Licensing:** Graduated licensing is a three-stage program that involves a learner’s permit, intermediate (provisional) license, and full licensure. **.08 BAC Law:** People operating an automobile are only allowed to drive if there BAC is under a .08
 * Primary Safety Belt Law:** Laws that require the passengers in a car to wear a seatbelt

The research unfortunately did not display any differences in each state as they all had the same exact prevention measures. However, this does not mean that Delaware should not enact further DUI prevention to reduce it’s alcohol related accidents and fatalities.

We then went on to research the DUI laws in the states of Florida and New York to find differences between their laws and Delaware's laws. We wanted to see if the differing laws could have been the reason for lower DUI rates and alcohol related driving fatalities rates in FL and NY.

After reviewing, New York we found that

**__First Drunk Driving Conviction__**
Your first conviction for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in the State of New York with a BAC of .08 percent or higher is a misdemeanor. You will be fined from $500 to $1,000 and you could spend up to 1 year in jail. Your drivers license will be suspended for a minimum of 6 months and you will be ordered to pay a mandatory conviction surcharge. You will also be ordered alcohol screening and evaluation prior to sentencing. =__**Second Drunk Driving Conviction**__= Your second conviction for a DWI in New York State within 10 years of the first DWI will be a Class E Felony. This felony will cost you a minimum fine of $1,000 or up to $5,000. You will also receive a minimum jail sentence of 10 days in jail or be ordered to perform 60 days of community service. The minimum 10 day jail sentence can be increased by the court up to 7 years in jail. Your driver license will be revoked for a minimum of 1 year plus you will have to pay for an ignition interlock device that will be placed on your vehicle once your suspension is over. The court will also have you pay for your alcohol

__**Third Drunk Driving Conviction**__
A 3rd drunk driving conviction in New York is a class D felony. You will be fined a minimum of $2,000 up to $10,000. You could be sentenced up to 7 years in jail, 10 days of which is mandatory. The court may also order you to serve 60 days of community service. Your driver license will be revoked for a minimum of 1 year plus you will have to pay for an ignition interlock device that will be placed on your vehicle once your suspension is over. The State of New York prohibits driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or above. The .08 limit is used throughout the United States as the benchmark for the "impaired" driver. New York State has lower limits for Commercial drivers (.04) and drivers under the age of 21 (.02). The laws for drivers under 21 are effectively a zero tolerance law and a minor could lose the privilege to drive until they become an adult. The New York law also addresses driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol or both.

Delaware's laws were as follows:

Your drivers license will be taken at the time of the arrest and you will be issued a temporary permit that will expire 15 days from the time of your arrest. After conviction, your license will be revoked for 1 year. You may receive a reduction in suspension under the "First Offender Program Election". The fine will be from $230-$1,150 and you will be imprisoned for 60 days to 6 months.

**__First Drunk Driving Conviction__**
Your drivers license will be taken at the time of the arrest and you will be issued a temporary permit that will expire 15 days from the time of your arrest. After conviction, your license will be revoked for 1 year. You may receive a reduction in suspension under the "First Offender Program Election". The fine will be from $230-$1,150 and you will be imprisoned for 60 days to 6 months.

__**Second Drunk Driving Conviction**__ Your drivers license will be taken at the time of the arrest and you will be issued a temporary permit that will expire 15 days from the time of your arrest. After your second drunk driving conviction your license will be revoked for 18 months for a BAC less than .16 or refusal to submit to a chemical test. If your BAC was between .16 and .19 percent your license will be revoked for 24 months. If your BAC is .20 or greater you will receive a 30 month revocation of your drivers license. The fine for your second DUI will be $575-$2,300 and you will receive a mandatory imprisonment for 60 days- 18 months. All second and future DUI convictions are required to have an ignition interlock device on all vehicles registered under the convicted drivers name after the first 12 months of revocation. __**Third Drunk Driving Conviction**__ Your third drunk driving arrest in Delaware is a Felony if it occurs within 5 years of the two prior offenses. After your third drunk driving conviction your license will be revoked for 24 months for a BAC less than .16 or refusal to submit to a chemical test. If your BAC was between .16 and .19 percent your license will be revoked for 30 months. If your BAC is .20 or greater you will receive a 36 month revocation of your drivers license. The fine for your third DUI will be $1,000-$3,000 and you will receive a mandatory imprisonment for 1-2 years. All second and future DUI convictions are required to have an ignition interlock device on all vehicles registered under the convicted drivers name after the first 12 months of revocation.

After going to various websites we came to the conclusion that New York did not give us any sufficient examples to change any laws in Delaware. The laws in both states were very similiar as stated above, if anything Delaware's Dui laws were more harsh. However, after reviewing the Florida laws, we sound some interesting information. In the the state of Florida, their laws contain a varying degree of penalties based on the results of drinking and driving. Their laws were as follows:


 * Any DUI violation resulting in property damage is a misdemeanor of the 1st degree
 * Any DUI violation resulting in serious bodily injury to another is a 3rd degree felony
 * Any DUI violation that results in the death of another is DUI manslaughter, resulting in either a 1st or 2nd degree felony, depending on the circumstances.

These above results, differ from Delaware because in Delaware a DUI does not include the varying degrees stated above, you just get seperate penalites based on the offense. So if you had a DUI that resulted in property damage in Delaware it would be the penalties for a DUI and then the penalites for property damage. They are not included in one crime like Florida. The same goes for DUI with serious bodily harm and DUI that results in Death. Additional information was found that showed a car gets impounded in Florida for 10 days on the first DUI offense and 30 days on the second offense which differs from Delaware where the car does not get impounded at all. So if Delaware included the varying degree laws such as florida and a vehicle impoundment law future drivers may be deterred from driving under the influence of alchohol, especially with the penalties associated with DUI.


 * DUIs in States Surrounding Delaware**

__New Jersey__ We went to the New Jersey Division of Highway Safety state website to see what the state does to prevent drunk driving. New Jersey believes that it is important to send the message that they are not out to arrest people and get them in trouble, but that they are trying to prevent drunk driving from happening at all in the first place. They use highly visible enforcement to inform people that the risk of being caught is too high for people to even attempt to drive under the influence. Their enforcement phrase is "//Drunk Driving - Over the Limit. Under Arrest."// The NJ Division of Highway Safety believes that this campaign has been effective becuase the rate for drunk driving fatalities in NJ has decreased from 31% to 29% over the past few years. New Jersey ran this campaign to increase public awareness of the dangers of drunk driving from August 15, 2008 to September 1, 2008, and again from December 8, 2008 to January 2, 2009. The campaign was ran at these times becuase according to the NJ Division of Highway Safety, "impaired driving increases by as much as 10%" around these times. For the campaign, all 494 NJ police agencies were invited to participate, and $5,000 funding was provided to 92 of the agencies. The remaining agencies were responsible for funding themselves. The NJ Department of Highway Safety utilized print and broadcast media to help spread the message of the campaign. They will continue to run this campaign multiple times a year since it has proved to be effective.

__Maryland__ In order to research Maryland's tactics for drunk driving prevention, we found the //Maryland Strategic Highway Safety Plan// from the MD state government website. In this plan, their number one goal is to reduce impaired driving. They have a step by step plan that began in 2006 to reduce drunk driving fatalities by 15% by 2010. They have impaired driving enforcement strategies that they have implemented throughout the entire state. Their strategies include:  Although the results are not in yet since their plan doesn't end until 2010, their detailed strategy should enable them to achieve their goal of decreasing drunk driving fatalities by 15%.
 * training law enforcement and increasing the amount of enforcement activities throughout the state
 *  <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">identifying the top 5 priority audiences to focus a prevention campaign on and developing an extensive campaign targeting these priority audiences
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">harshening the consequences of those who are arrested for DUI's by identifying current problems in the law
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">creating educational programs for the high priority audiences they identified <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">

__Pennsylvania__ To obtain DUI prevention information in Pennsylvania, we used the PA DUI Association website. This is a professional organization that works with the PA Department of Transportation to prevent drunk driving, <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">enforce the laws, and help rehabilate those who have been charged with DUI's. The most recent data from 2007 show that 35.7% of all traffic fatalities in PA are alcohol related, but this rate has continued to decrease over the past several years. To help prevent those who have already been convicted of driving under the influence from doing it again, PA enacted the Ignition Interlock Law. This law "stated that offenders who were convicted of a second or subsequent DUI offense should have all their owned motor vehicles equipped with an ignition interlock system for one year following a twelve (12) month hard suspension of their driving privileges" (PAdui.org). This interlock has a built in breathalizer that prevents the car from starting if a person blows over a .025. To prevent DUI's, the association also uses a Safety SIM at schools or any other type of event. This is a simulator that allows people to experience "how alcohol impairs your ability to steer and brake, and also shows the danger to you when other drivers are impaired" (PAdui.org). According to their website, PAdui.org, the association also works to promote higher public awareness of DUI, train highway safety personnel, coordinate a statewide network of DUI-related groups and agencies, assist with law enforcement activities, and maintain an effective alcohol highway safety system with the state.

After conducting our research, we have found that other states implement more effective DUI prevention programs than Delaware does. The alcohol related fatality rate in Delaware is 41%, which is much higher than the other states we researched. This is highly preventable, and it could be lowered if Delaware had a stronger DUI prevention program. As shown by our research, Delaware only uses a safe ride program and a checkpoint strikeforce, so we believe that much more can be done to prevent alcohol related accidents. When comparing Delaware with different states with similar population densities, Delaware had a much higher DUI fatality rate. New York and Florida have similar densities to Delaware, and their rates were 25.8% and 27.7% respectively. When comparing Delaware to the surrounding states of New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, they too had lower DUI fatility rates. Those states have more successful and preventative measures in place to prevent drunk driving. Based on our research, JBMT Consulting advises that you enact one or more of our following recommendations to prevent drinking and driving and to decrease the amount of alcohol related accidents. Delaware should strengthen their campaign against drunk driving by using a campaign similar to the one that is used in New Jersey. Through this campaign, the state should focus on preventing drunk driving by making people realize that the risk of being caught is too high. This campaign should be ran throughout the summer and the holiday season becuase drunk driving rates tend to increase at these times. Use a catchphrase simliar to New Jersey's "<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">//Drunk Driving - Over the Limit. Under Arrest,"// that will capture the essence of the campaign. We believe that a campaign similar to this could decrease the alcohol related accidents and fatality rates because the DUI fatality rate in NJ continues to decrease over the years and is currently much lower than Delaware's rate at 29%. Since the high rate of alcohol related fatalities is such a problem in Delaware, a comprehensive plan to decrease the rate should be developed for the entire state to implement. The state should create a plan that aims to decrease both the alcohol related accident and fatility rates by 10% over a five year period. This plan should aim to increase DUI enforcement; focus a prevention campaign on those aged between 21 and 37 years old and on males, since the average offender fits in one of those categories; harshen DUI consequences; and create educational programs to make people aware of the dangers of drunk driving. As you saw from the alcohol related crash chart, Pennsylvania's DUI Association has helped decrease the amount of alcohol related accidents and fatalities over the past several years. We encourage Delaware to set up an organization similar to this that could work with the state to create programs to prevent people from driving under the influence. Specifically, this organization should promote public awareness of the dangers of drunk driving, coordinate a statewide network of DUI-related groups and agencies, assist with law enforcement activities, and maintain an effective alcohol highway safety system with the state. In PA, this association has also effectively put an important preventitive measure into place, which is the Safety Simulator. This simulator could be brought to schools all around the state, so that drinking and driving can be prevented starting at a young age. Rather than just suspending the license of the person convicted of a DUI, we believe that consequences should be more severe, so that the person is strongly discouraged from driving drunk once his or her license is returned. Similar to Florida, the criminal status of a DUI offender should be based on the effects the accident had on others, and the offender can be punished properly based on their status. To harshen the current DUI penalties in Delaware, all DUI offenders should receive punishments similar to those in The First Offenders Program. This program has severe penalties, including jail time and large fines. If those were the punishments for all DUI offenders, people literally could not afford to drive drunk. Other than increasing penalties, we recommend installing an ignition interlock device in the cars of all first time offenders. The state should continue to have DUI checkpoints, and the amount of checkpoints should be increased in the problem areas that we identified. Since 52% of DUI accidents occur in New Castle County, the largest amount of checkpoints should be set up throughout this county. DUI checkpoints should also be increased on the weekends, between 8 PM and 4 AM, since that is when the most DUI fatalities occur. WORKS CITED** Department of Law and Public Safety. Attorney General. __Division of Highway Traffic Safety__. State of New Jersey. 27 Apr. 2009 <http://www.nj.gov/oag/hts/alcohol.html>. __ The Maryland Strategic Highway Safety Plan __. The State of Maryland. 28 Apr. 2009 <http://www.sha.state.md.us/safety/oots/SHSP.pdf>. __ Team DUI __. PA DUI Association. 28 Apr. 2009 <http://www.padui.org/>.
 * RECOMMENDATIONS**
 * Use Highy Visible Enforcement**
 * Develop a Plan for the Entire State that Aims to Reduce Alcohol Related Accidents and Fatalities**
 * Create an Organization that Works with the State to put Preventative Measures Against Drunk Driving in Place**
 * Harshen DUI Consequences**
 * Set Up More DUI Checkpoints**
 * __BACK MATTER__

__State of Delaware Divison of Motor Vehicles__. State of Delaware. 27 Apr. 2009 <[]>.

__State of Delaware Office of Highway Safety__. State of Delaware. 27 Apr. 2009 <http://ohs.delaware.gov/>.