One fifth of drivers convicted of drink-driving for the first time will be convicted again for the same offence in subsequent years. Lecture-based educational programmes are believed to reduce recidivism. Little is known about the modalities of enhancing the benefits of such programs.
This parallel randomised controlled trial measured the effects of the duration of lectures and the presence of a close relative 'in class' on rates of recidivism during the ten years following an initial drink-driving conviction. Of 1588 drivers in the Canton of Geneva convicted of a first-time offence with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of between 0.80 and 2.49g/kg from May 2001 to February 2004, 727 agreed to participate and were randomly assigned to either a seven-hour series of lectures, a four-hour series with a friend or close relative, or a brief two-hour lecture. Time until recidivism was retrieved from a national registry that contains details of recidivism that took place up to ten years after the first offence.
Significant effects of briefer lectures over the standard day-long series of lectures were observed only during the most influential time period with regards to recidivism levels-the two years following the intervention. Replacing the usual one-day series of lectures by briefer two-hour lectures would reduce, by 25% (CI95%; 3-44%), the risk of recidivism.
This study does not support policymakers' decision to rely on a seven-hour series of lectures to decrease DUI recidivism. The advantages of shorter lectures over no lecture still need to be evaluated.