Audits

At the request of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations we compared the programs and activities in 10 selected states for countering alcohol–impaired driving and explored actions the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) could take to ensure that funds are targeted towards strategies that will have the most impact on reducing alcohol–impaired driving. We found that state performance plans generally contain measures on activities such as the number of sobriety checkpoints conducted or on the overall performance goal of reducing the alcohol–impaired fatality rate. However, better information is needed on the degree to which states are implementing key strategies such as sustained enforcement of laws. The report also included examples of best practices found in the 10 state alcohol–impaired driving programs we sampled and information on the Federal resources dedicated to reducing alcohol–related traffic fatalities. NHTSA generally agreed with our recommendations and in responding to the final report the NHTSA Administrator stated that its work related to the audit had already yielded program improvements.