More than 16,000 people died as a result of alcohol-related accidents in 2005, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Department of Justice records show that more than 1.4 million people were arrested for driving under the influence.
In State College, there were 484 arrests for DUI in 2006, 150 more than in 2005.
"Understanding the effects of alternative measures is important -- what works and what does not," Wagenaar said.
The research indicated that stricter regulations nationwide failed to discourage drunken driving.
Of the 48 states researchers studied, 18 had mandatory minimum jail terms and 26 had mandatory minimum fines. No consistent pattern existed between a low rate of DUI arrests and tougher state DUI policies.
The study reported that part of the problem was the psychology surrounding current DUI standards and punishment.
It can take up to a year for the legal ramifications to fall into place, and in many states DUI punishments are comparable to those of underage drinking.
Some students, such as Amanda Rega (freshman-division of undergraduate studies), said they were not surprised by the results.
"It's like underage drinking -- people aren't going to be deterred by law if they've gotten away with it before," she said.
"The similar punishments are frustrating though. I'm against drunk driving, but I'm not against underage drinking. I don't think you can compare the two, so there should be harsher punishments for drunk driving."
Penn State psychology professor Andrew Peck cited social issues as a reason why people offend.
"When people are drinking, they don't think rationally and have an inflated sense of vulnerability," Peck said. "And the social reinforcers are right in front of them, influencing their decision making."
Social reinforcers range from drinking friends to being able to get away with driving drunk on occasions.
The Florida study showed that on average people drive drunk 50 to 200 times before getting caught.
Wagenaar said while jail time does not appear to deter the general population, similar studies of other policies have shown that they are clearly effective in reducing death rates.
"Raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 reduced death rates in that population by 10 percent and has saved some 25,000 lives in the U.S. over the past couple of decades," he said.
Wagenaar also cited immediate suspension of drivers' licenses for those whose breath registers over the legal limit and sobriety checkpoints as effective DUI enforcement mechanisms.
Peck said he thought the solutions to this problem probably existed away from the legal platform.
"Improving alcohol education on every level of schooling is a start," he said.
"And more research should be done to find out why people are offending. This study just shows that people are offending."
From a student's perspective, however, Rega disagrees.
"More alcohol education probably won't make a huge difference," she said.
"If education is forced on people it's not going to be something they truly retain -- it has to be about attitude and choice."
