Why Women Drive Drunk
The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) 2011 review of the literature about female drunk drivers revealed increases in arrests among women for DWI as well as important gaps in knowledge pertaining to their profile and characteristics, experiences in the criminal justice and treatment systems, and the types of strategies and interventions that are most effective with this population.
To address these gaps and increase understanding of why women drive drunk, TIRF conducted a follow-up exploratory case study in 2012 that involved multiple cases that were drawn from four states (California, Michigan, Missouri and New York). The design of this hypothesis-generating study included interview focus groups with more than 150 female offenders representing diverse backgrounds and experiences in the system. It also involved interviews with 36 experienced practitioners representing different phases of the criminal justice and treatment systems.
