A structural analysis of U.S. drunk driving policy

The expected penalty for drunk driving can and does vary by blood alcohol content. This paper outlines the schedule of penalties that best achieves two key social objectives, efficacy and efficiency (subject to constraints), shows how the associated optimality conditions can be implemented with available data to analyze policy ex ante or ex post, and then uses these findings to assess four fundamental features of current U.S. drunk driving policy. Large penalties at very high alcohol concentrations are supported, but not reductions in per se blood alcohol thresholds, the most significant recent change in policy.