ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors show that the extant scholarship on drinking and driving lacks theoretical direction. The general public views driving under the influence (DUI) as a serious crime—serious in terms of its prevalance and its consequences. People make individual choices regarding drinking and driving. Society views these choices in the aggregate, thereby constructing the “problem” of DUI. The nature of crime, including DUI, indicates that nearly all crimes are mundane, simple, trivial, easy acts aimed at satisfying desires of the moment, as are many other acts of little concern to the criminal law. DUI is significantly correlated with low self-control behaviors, the opportunity costs and institutional constraints operating on DUI need to be evaluated. From M. Gottfredson and T. Hirschi, the authors predict that deviant and criminal behaviors of all types correlated with one another, and more serious behaviors are better predictors of DUI than less serious behaviors.
