COVID-19 has certainly changed the landscape of transportation safety. Despite a decrease in vehicle miles traveled, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Safety Council (NSC) both reported increases in risky driving behaviors, particularly impaired driving in 2020 and 2021. TRB hosted a webinar on Friday, May 13, 2022 that explored pandemic-related drinking and driving behaviors along with priority impaired-driving research needs. Presenters discussed serious and fatal crashes due to these behaviors

This webinar was sponsored by the TRB Standing Technical Committee on Impairment in Transportation.

The presenters' slides and recording are available. 

Webinar agenda and presenters

• Convicted DWI offenders’ drinking and driving during COVID-19 - Eduardo Romano, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation
• Evaluation of impaired driving behaviors during the pandemic - Ward Vanlaar, Traffic Injury Research Foundation
• High-priority research needs on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on impairment in transportation – Justin Chee, Ontario Ministry of Transportation
• Question and answer session – Tara Kelley-Baker, NHTSA

The first 60 minutes of the webinar will be for presentations and the final 30 minutes will be reserved for audience questions.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Make objective economic and planning decisions based on the impact of a pandemic on impaired driving behaviors
• Evaluate the potential impact of decisions designed to mitigate pandemic-related impaired driving behaviors
• Assess areas where additional research on the topic is needed

Continuing Education Credit Information

No continuing education credits are offered with this webinar.