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Diffusion of Impaired Driving Laws Among US States.
Am J Public Health. 2015 Jul 16;:e1-e8
Authors: Macinko J, Silver D
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: We examined internal and external determinants of state's adoption of impaired driving laws.
METHODS: Data included 7 state-level, evidence-based public health laws collected from 1980 to 2010. We used event history analyses to identify predictors of first-time law adoption and subsequent adoption between state pairs. The independent variables were internal state factors, including the political environment, legislative professionalism, government capacity, state resources, legislative history, and policy-specific risk factors. The external factors were neighboring states' history of law adoption and changes in federal law.
RESULTS: We found a strong secular trend toward an increased number of laws over time. The proportion of younger drivers and the presence of a neighboring state with similar laws were the strongest predictors of first-time law adoption. The predictors of subsequent law adoption included neighbor state adoption and previous legislative action. Alcohol laws were negatively associated with first-time adoption of impaired driving laws, suggesting substitution effects among policy choices.
CONCLUSIONS: Organizations seeking to stimulate state policy changes may need to craft strategies that engage external actors, such as neighboring states, in addition to mobilizing within-state constituencies. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print July 16, 2015: e1-e8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302670).
PMID: 26180969 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]