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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon

Time: 11:47 pm

Results for motor vehicle offenses

2 results found

Author: Carnegie, Jon A.

Title: Study of the Effects of Plea Bargaining Motor Vehicle Offenses

Summary: The objectives of this study were to examine the impact of plea bargaining point-carrying moving violations to zero-point offenses on roadway safety in New Jersey and to assess the impact of plea bargaining on New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) programs and revenues. For this study the research team conducted a national literature review and a scan of current practices used in other states; reviewed New Jersey laws and program guidance related to driver monitoring and control and plea bargaining motor vehicle offenses; conducted a series of interviews with personnel from the MVC and Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC); analyzed data from the AOC Automated Traffic System (ATS) and the MVC driver history database; and, assessed how the practice of plea bargaining may be affecting MVC programs and revenues. The study finds clear evidence that the practice of plea bargaining point-carrying moving violations to zero-point offenses has increased significantly in New Jersey since July 2000. However, the effect of this increase on highway safety is not as clear. The overall number of moving violation convictions has not changed significantly since 2000, nor has the nature of the violations being committed changed significantly. The study also finds evidence that a small minority of habitual offenders appear to be using the system to their advantage and that the number of drivers subjected to MVC negligent driver countermeasures has declined by 36 percent since 1999. This diversion of negligent drivers out of MVC driver monitoring and control programs appears to be particularly problematic in light of research findings from a recently completed study on recidivism among drivers sanctioned by MVC. That study found the countermeasures used by MVC to address negligent driving behavior are effective at reducing violation and crash recidivism among most negligent driver subgroups. The findings of this study combined with the findings and conclusions of the MVC recidivism study suggest a number of policy reforms should be considered to ensure that repeat traffic offenders are not able to circumvent driver monitoring and control programs through plea bargaining. First, MVC should work with the AOC, the Attorney General’s office and other key stakeholders to develop more explicit guidelines regarding the use of plea bargaining to reduce point-carrying moving violations to zero-point offenses. Second, MVC should examine the efficacy of transitioning from a point-based system of driver monitoring and control to an event-based system that relies on the accumulation of “countable” offenses to trigger negligent driver countermeasures. Thirdly, policy makers should consider amending the “unsafe operation” statute to limit the use of plea bargaining by any driver to two times.

Details: New Brunswick, NJ: Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2009. 56p.

Source: FHWA-NJ-2009-018: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 29, 2012 at http://www.nj.gov/transportation/refdata/research/reports/FHWA-NJ-2009-018.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: http://www.nj.gov/transportation/refdata/research/reports/FHWA-NJ-2009-018.pdf

Shelf Number: 123871

Keywords:
Evaluative Studies
Motor Vehicle Offenses
Plea Bargaining

Author: Gehrsitz, Markus

Title: Speeding, Punishment, and Recidivism: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design

Summary: This paper estimates the effects of temporary driver's license suspensions on driving behavior. A little known rule in the German traffic penalty catalogue maintains that drivers who commit a series of speeding transgressions within 365 days should have their license suspended for one month. My regression discontinuity design exploits the quasi-random assignment of license suspensions caused by the 365-days cut-off and shows that 1-month license suspensions lower the probability of recidivating within a year by 20 percent. This is largely a specific deterrence effect driven by the punishment itself and not by incapacitation, information asymmetries, or the threat of stiffer future penalties.

Details: Bonn: Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), 2017. 54p.

Source: Internet Resource: ADiscussion Paper Series: ccessed May 6, 2017 at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp10707.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Germany

URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp10707.pdf

Shelf Number: 145330

Keywords:
License Suspensions
Motor Vehicle Offenses
Recidivism
Speeding