The Problem of Suspended and Revoked Drivers Who Avoid Detection at Checkpoints

Objective: Although driver license suspension and revocation have been shown to improve traffic safety, suspended or revoked (SR) drivers who continue to drive—which appears to be the majority—are about 3 times more likely to be involved in crashes and to cause a fatal crash. In California and many other U.S. states, drivers are typically mailed notices requesting that they surrender their licenses when they are SR for reasons other than driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI), yet they frequently do not comply. Typical procedures at DUI checkpoints in California and other U.S. states include inspecting driver licenses and checking for signs of intoxication during brief contacts with law enforcement officers. Hence, these checkpoints are in fact DUI/license checkpoints in California and many other states. The purpose of this study was to estimate the extent to which SR drivers avoid being detected at DUI/license checkpoints for SR driving, because they illegally retained possession of their ...