Is Uber To Thank For A Decrease In California DUI’s?
As we all know, drunk driving is a common offense for many. There has always been a fine line between whether someone is too drunk to drive or if that person “thinks” they are too drunk to drive. Authorities have seen a decrease in DUI rates by about 4% since the debut of several social ride-sharing services.
Uber, a now popular ride-share service that is available at any time of the day, released a study in early 2015 that posited that the driving service had helped decrease the DUI rates not only in California, but also throughout other U.S. communities.
Many have called the ride-share service out on their study claiming that there is a lack of evidence for the correlation between DUI rates and Uber usages. Fortunately for Uber, researchers at Temple University decided to conduct their own study to find out if there were any significant findings. The answer was a simple yes — here is their findings in a nutshell:
Using a difference-in-difference approach to exploit a natural experiment, the entry of two Uber services into markets in California between 2009 and 2014, we find a significant drop in the rate of homicides after the introduction of Uber. (Temple University Uber Study Results)Of course, there are always questions for any type of statistics that are put out by research. However, police will tell you that even they have noticed a decrease in DUI’s in their communities and they feel that they have Uber to thank for it. If you ever do find yourself with a DUI charge, contact a criminal defense attorney right away. They can help you navigate the ups and downs of the prosecution process.
Bradley Corbett
Bradley Corbett is a criminal defense attorney in San Diego. He graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo Utah in 2004. Later he enrolled at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego where he participated in a prestigious internship program with the Los Angeles County Public Defender. Since then he has handled over 2,000 cases.