Areas of expertise include behavioral studies in traffic safety, evaluating impaired driving countermeasures, research on underage drinking, and determining the effectiveness of various alcohol policies and safety issues associated with the legalization of marijuana in the states. Recent projects include a study of the minimum legal marijuana use age 21 laws and enforcement in California, determining the prevalence of certain drugs found in the blood of serious and fatally injured drivers from seven trauma centers around the country, a public survey of underutilized strategies to reduce traffic fatalities, a special impaired driving enforcement effort in Maryland, and a study of DUI in Miami-Dade County (FL). 

Jim’s current projects include “State of Knowledge and Practice – Impaired Driving Technology”, sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This involves a comprehensive literature review and investigation into the extent of use of the technology. Another project funded by NHTSA is “Successful Impaired Driving Task Forces” which involves discussions with State Impaired Driving Task Force members to determine best practices. In addition, Jim has a project  “Examine Issues with Prosecuting Driving-Under-the-Influence-of-Drugs (DUID) Cases” funded also by NHTSA in which discussions with state prosecutors will document issues with prosecuting DUID. An example of a past project was “Public Acceptance of Underutilized Strategies in Traffic Safety” funded by the National Safety Council which involved a survey of public support for specific countermeasures in traffic safety.

Lowering the BAC Limit for Driving: During the 1990s when states were considering lowering their illegal BAC limit for driving from .10 g/dL to .08 g/dL, Jim co-authored one of the first studies showing the effect of BAC levels on impaired driving fatal crashes. Subsequently, Jim was invited by officials in 12 states to provide expert testimony on the merits of lowering the BAC to .08 (DE, DC, IL, IN, MD, MN, MO, NE, NC, TN, TX, and WV). In 2000, President Clinton signed a bill providing a strong incentive for all states to lower the BAC limit to .08; all states and the District of Columbia eventually adopted the law.

More recently, Jim collaborated with Dr. Robert Voas on various articles demonstrating the rationale and summarizing the evidence to lower the BAC limit from the current .08 g/dL to .05 g/dL. With co-author, Dr. Michael Scherer, they conducted a meta-analysis of studies around the world evaluating various BAC limits. It was concluded that if the U.S. adopted a .05 BAC limit nationwide, it could save up to 1790 lives each year.