Current Evidence On Publicized Sobriety Checkpoint Programs: Are They Still Effective?

Background/Purpose: Alcohol-impaired driving is involved in over 10,000 deaths yearly in the U.S. In 2001, the Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) recommended the use of sobriety checkpoints on the basis of a systematic review of literature published before June 30, 2000. The review showed this intervention resulted in a median decline of about 20% in crashes involving alcohol. For 2012, an updated review was conducted to determine if the effectiveness of publicized sobriety checkpoint programs has changed since the 2001 review, to explore the effectiveness of low-manpower staffed checkpoints, and to determine economic costs and benefits. Methods: The Community Guide methods for systematic reviews were used to evaluate studies of the effectiveness of sobriety checkpoints published from July 2000 through March 2012. Results/Outcomes: Fifteen evaluations published from 2000-2012 met the inclusion criteria. All but one evaluation were conducted in the United States. The median reduction in alcohol-involved fatal crashes attributable to sobriety checkpoints was 8.9% with an interquartile interval of -16.5% to -3.5%. Two evaluations of low-manpower staffed checkpoints showed reductions of 18% and 64% respectively in alcohol-involved fatal crashes and drinking/driving behavior. Five economic evaluations showed that benefit-to-cost ratios ranged from 2:1 to 57:1. Conclusions: Despite a smaller median effect estimate from studies published since 2000 compared with those in the 2001 review, the intervention continues to make an important public health impact. The Task Force recommends widespread use of publicized sobriety checkpoint programs based on strong evidence of effectiveness in reducing alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-involved crashes.