12
Equity in Traffic Safety Enforcement
Objective:
Promoting fair and equitable traffic safety enforcement of hazardous driving behaviors to reduce fatalities and build trust among communities of color. With U.S. alcohol-related traffic deaths at a 17-year high, Mothers Against Drunk Driving recognizes the need to use limited traffic safety resources in even more efficient and effective ways. Solid data suggests that more equitable traffic safety enforcement could help prevent deaths and injuries, leading MADD to engage with our law enforcement partners and other stakeholders to act on the evidence in ways that advance our mission to save lives. Traffic stops are the most frequent engagement between law enforcement and the public, with more than 20 million people stopped for traffic violations each year. Research shows communities
of color are disproportionally subject to traffic stops and searches. A study of nearly 100 million traffic stops over a decade across all 50 states found that Black drivers were stopped more frequently than White drivers. 20 Over the past three years, the U.S. has seen an increase in impaired driving, especially during the pandemic. Overall, drunk driving deaths have increased by 33% since 2019, rising to more than 13,000 in 2021 and 2022. 21 In addition to communities of color being disproportionately subject to stops and searches, there is also a disproportionate impact on the number of fatalities. Prior to the pandemic, American Indian or Alaska Native (ALAN), Black or African American, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) had higher traffic fatality rates per 100,000 population than White people. 22 One analysis of 20 million stops in North Carolina over a 14-year period found that Black people were 63% more likely than White people to be stopped while driving, despite being 16% less likely to drive. 23 Multiple studies, including eight conducted in Connecticut, identified statistically significant disparities in stops and searches of Black drivers. Black drivers were 1.5 times more likely to be stopped and almost three times more likely to be searched than White drivers. The studies concluded that these disparities are driven by traffic stops for administrative and equipment violations not shown to effectively prevent hazardous driving. 24
20. Emma Pierson et al., “A large-scale analysis of racial disparities in police stops across the United States, “ Nature Human Behavior 4 (2020): 736-745 21. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2021 (April 2023) 22. Testing for Disparities in Traffic Stops: Best Practices from the Connecticut Model (2020) 23. Baumgartner, F. R., EPP, D. A., & Shoub, K. (2018). Suspect citizens: What 20 million traffic stops tell us about policing and race Cambridge University Press, pp. 69-77 24. Testing for Disparities in Traffic Stops: Best Practices from the Connecticut Model (2020) 20
Mothers Against Drunk Driving ®
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting