Mandated AA attendance for recidivist drinking drivers: policy issues

Mandates for recidivist drinking drivers to attend AA meetings raise concerns about whether AA referral practices could have an adverse impact on both alcohol problems and traffic safety, whether routine and unregulated referrals to AA may prove detrimental to AA as an organization, and over ethical issues and possible loss of civil liberties. Similar issues arise in criminal justice and other agencies' handling of a variety of situations beyond the DUI arena. As a result institutions mandating involvement in mutual aid programs such as AA, and a variety of treatment settings, should adopt cautious referral practices, support rigorous research and create and evaluate targeted programs and integrated services.