Impaired driving in rural jurisdictions

The efforts of the Working Group on DWI System Improvements have served to identify critical system needs, to make needed educational materials available, to articulate the complex issues associated with program and policy implementation embedded within broader systems, and to give voice to the concerns of practitioners in the DWI system. [...] This report describes the context and features of the impaired driving problem in rural areas and highlights some of the barriers to progress. [...] This section aims to describe the demographic characteristics of rural jurisdictions, and the features and characteristics of roadways and travel practices in rural areas generally. [...] For example, an analysis of fatal crashes in rural jurisdictions revealed that drivers killed in rural areas are less likely to wear their seatbelts (51%) and more likely to speed (30%), in comparison to rural drivers in urban areas (46% and 28% respectively). [...] In terms of road safety habits, there are a variety of risky behaviors that are more pronounced in rural areas affecting the number and severity of crashes, including speeding, non-use of seatbelts, and drinking and driving.