January 1, 2017 — Boston Sunday Globe: “[A] review of 8,364 so-called place of last drink reports collected by Massachusetts courts after convictions for operating under the influence….offer only a small window into the drunken driving problem in Massachusetts: About 15,000 to 16,500 people a year are arraigned on drunken driving charges in Massachusetts, according to the state trial courts, while only about 10 to 15 percent of arrests result in a conviction in a given year….a fraction of the bars and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol in Massachusetts — just 48 establishments — combined to rack up more than 1,000 last-drink reports, which represent 12 percent of convictions reviewed….last-drink reports ‘are fairly low numbers, but they’re probably the tip of an iceberg,’ said Jay Winsten, director of Harvard University’s Center for Health Communication and a pioneer of OUI awareness campaigns. ‘These numbers may well serve as a red flag, reflecting a pattern of drinking behavior at a particular establishment.’
Read the Boston Sunday Globe article by Dan Adams and Matt Rocheleau
Center for Health Communication
