David Wallace, The Traffic Safety Guy
A pioneer in traffic safety, David Wallace developed the first Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP) program in Michigan, becoming a national role model. As a TSRP, he facilitated a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to the arrest and prosecution of impaired drivers and other traffic crimes, training prosecutors and law enforcement alike.
In 2008, Mr. Wallace became the first Director of the National Center for DWI Courts (NCDC) and oversaw a nationwide increase of 50% in the number of DWI Courts changing repeat impaired drivers into law-abiding citizens. As the NCDC Director he trained new multi-jurisdictional teams on how to implement and operate an effective DWI Court; provided technical assistance to established DWI Courts; participated in national media events; lobbied national and state legislators to expand DWI Courts; and collaborated with a broad range of stakeholders to implement and support these lifesaving programs.
Now back in the courtroom as a Chief Assistant Prosecutor, with over 25 years’ experience, 7 years as a TSRP and 5 years as the Director of the NCDC, Mr. Wallace has worked with law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, probation officers, treatment professionals, highway safety advocates and others, bringing a complete perspective on what needs to be done in making communities safer.
Mr. Wallace is the recipient of the Kevin E. Quinlan Award for Excellence in Traffic Safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Public Safety Award and the Jeff Sauter Treatment Court Award from the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals in 2019. In 2024, he was elected President of the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals (MATCP).
As the Traffic Safety Guy, Mr. Wallace works to identify, develop and promote justice programs that improve public safety, reduce recidivism, and change lives. He is still active in the courtroom as a Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Huron County, Michigan, and he is the President of the Justice Speakers Institute and responsible for its technological efforts.
- 24 / 7 Alcohol Testing
- Child Traffic Safety
- Coalition Building
- Drowsy Driving
- Drug Recognition Experts (DRE)
- Drugged Driving
- DWI Courts / Drug Courts
- Ignition Interlock Devices
- Impaired Driving
- Incentives and Sanctions
- International Decade of Action for Road Safety
- Motorcycle Safety
- Prosecutors and the Courtroom
- Returning Veterans and Traffic Safety
- Road Rage / Aggressive Driving
- Senior Citizen Driving Safety
- Targeting in DWI Courts
- Teen Driving Safety
- Understanding the Court System for Non-Lawyers
Select Presentations - International
- Co-Presenter of Procedural Fairness: A Critical Component of Therapeutic Jurisprudence. International Congress on Law and Mental Health, Rome, Italy, July 2019.
- Repeat Drink Drivers: Ending the Cycle. Is it an Impossible Dream? Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference 2014 - Melbourne, Australia. November 2014.
- The Promise of DWI Courts in New Zealand, Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts (AODTCs) Conference – Auckland, New Zealand. March 2012
- Breath Testing and Why it Works - The Need for an Implied Consent Law, NCPADD – Barbados. January 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2014
- Building an Effective Coalition in Traffic Safety, Breath Testing Seminar, NCPADD - Barbados. January 2006
- Program Partnerships–DWI Courts and Alcohol, International Interlock Symposium–Melbourne, Australia. October 2009
- Policy Issues and Ignition Interlocks International Interlock Symposium – Tallberg, Sweden, August. 2008
- Prosecuting Animal Cruelty Cases, JAZZPURR - Animal Cruelty in Canada – Ontario, Canada. June 2003
Select Presentations - United States
- The Right to Counsel, AJA Annual Conference, Lihue, Hawaii (Island of Kauai), September 2019 (With JSI Co-Founders, Judges Peggy Hora (Ret.) and Brian MacKenzie (Ret.))
- Drug Testing--Best Practices, MATCP 19th Annual Conference, Grand Rapids, Michigan. March 2018
- The Defense Attorney and the Prosecutor: Lessons Learned from Both Sides, MATCP 19th Annual Conference, Grand Rapids, Michigan. March 2018
- Building a Safety Culture, NAFA 2016 Institute & Expo, Austin, Texas. April 2016
- DUI Trends: Reaching Zero Deaths, VASAP Training Conference, Portsmouth, Virginia. September 2014
- Alcohol Testing: Using Technology to Support Recovery, Virginia DUI Drug Treatment Courts--Roanoke, Virginia. August 2014
- Alternative Sources of Funding for State Judicial Educators, National Association of State Judicial Educators--Boston, MA. August 2012
- Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, NHTSA Press Conference, Washington DC. August 2012
- The Promise of DWI Courts, American Judges Association--San Diego, CA. September 2011
- DWI and Drug Courts, What Are They? Delegation from China, Charlotte, North Carolina. April 2011
- Drug Impaired Driving in DWI Courts, Lifesavers 2011--Phoenix, Arizona. March 2011
- DWI Courts Across the Country, Governors Highway Safety Association—Kansas City, MO. September 2010
- Use of Search Warrants for BAC Test Results, Lifesavers 2008—Portland, Oregon. April 2008
- New Technology Issues in the Courtroom, Lifesavers 2007 – Chicago, Illinois. March 2007
- The ABCs of a TSRP (Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor), Idaho Annual Traffic Safety Program, Boise, Idaho. September 2006
- A DUI Case in the Prosecutor’s Office, Lifesavers 2006 – Austin, Texas, March 2006
- The ABCs of a TSRP (Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor), MADD - MADD Leadership Summit - New York, New York. February 2006
- Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors, What are they?, TIRF - Working Group on DWI System Improvements, Orlando, Florida. April 2005
- Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors, How They Can Benefit You, NHTSA Regional Meeting. March 2005
- Distracted Driving, Annual Professional Support Staff Conference – Lansing, MI. November 2007
- The CSI Effect, Annual Professional Support Staff Conference – Frankenmuth, MI. April 2005
- Underage Drinking, 8th Annual Michigan Traffic Safety Summit – Grand Rapids, MI. April 2003
- Community Prosecution and Traffic Safety, 7th Annual Michigan Traffic Safety Summit: Traffic Safety Laws and the Traffic Safety Training Program – Lansing, MI. April 2002
- The Role of the Victim Advocate in Vehicular Homicide Cases, Annual Victim Rights Advocates Conference – Thompsonville, MI. May 2001
- Communicating to a Victim Using Accelerated Principles of Learning, Annual Victim Rights Advocates Conference – Thompsonville, MI. May 2001
- Co-Author, Comparing the LifeSafer Portable Alcohol Monitoring Unit with other Alcohol Testing Technologies. Paper, Justice Speakers Institute, 2020.
- Co-Author, The admissibility of alcohol test results from the Soberlink Device in Family Law Cases. Position Paper, Justice Speakers Institute, 2018.
- Co-Author, The admissibility of Alcohol Test Results from the Smart Start SMART Mobile Device in Probation Violation Hearings. Position Paper Justice Speakers Institute, 2017.
- Co-editor of the Science Bench Book for Judges. The most comprehensive scientific evidence bench book ever published. Available free on this website as well as the National Judicial College website.
- Co-Author MATCP Drug Testing Manual 2nd Edition (2017)
- Building Consensus on Alcohol Misuse and Crime. Providing an individualized sentence can be a judge’s greatest blessing or biggest curse. If the sentence is appropriate, the judge may never see that person in a courtroom again. It is time to step up and work together. Highway to Justice, American Bar Association, Summer 2015.
- Traffic Safety, Is Thy Name Complacency? With so many preventable deaths and injuries resulting from traffic crashes, why is this issue shuffled off to the side? We lament the deaths and the injuries, but it is as if we see it as someone else’s responsibility to resolve this travesty. Highway to Justice, American Bar Association, Summer 2014.
- Repeat Drink Drivers: Ending the Cycle, is it an Impossible Dream? Unlike what some people contend, there is no silver bullet to end drink driving. Like the people committing it, impaired driving is a complex issue requiring a variety of tools to fight it. A new tool in the effort to stop repeat impaired driving are DWI Courts. A DWI Court specifically works with repeat/addicted offenders by implementing intensive supervision and long-term treatment to address the underlying problems and change the person’s behavior so they do not repeat. Paper and Presentation at the Australiasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference, November 2014.
- Verify Then Trust: Supervising the DWI Offender. A critical component of any supervision of a DWI offender is frequent alcohol and drug testing, and this article focuses on those components while looking at possible technological tools to support that effort. NPAMC, The Voice on Alcohol Misuse and Crime, June 2013.
- The Promise of DWI Courts: What Does It Mean and Why Should Prosecutors Care? A discussion of DWI Courts, what they are, how they are saving lives and why prosecutors should be involved as a DWI Court team member. Chapman Journal of Criminal Justice, Spring 2011.
- Do DWI Courts Work? An article discussing the research and effectiveness of DWI Courts. Future Trends in State Courts 2008, page 92. National Center for State Courts.
- Reputation Management – Or What Color Is Your Hat? A joint article for the newsletter "Between the Lines" discussing the importance of a prosecutor's reputation and what needs to be done by prosecutor to ensure a positive reputation in the community. Between the Lines, National Traffic Law Center, National District Attorneys Association, December 2007.
- Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws, Should We? A discussion on why underage drinking is deadly and why the laws dealing with underage drinking need to be enforced. Between the Lines, National Traffic Law Center, National District Attorneys Association, Winter 2005.
- Prior Convictions in Impaired Driving Prosecutions - Targeting the Hardcore Impaired Driver. A monograph for prosecutors providing guidance on finding prior convictions for impaired drivers. National Traffic Law Center, National District Attorneys Association, August 2004.
- Jeff Sauter Treatment Court Award, Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals, August 2019
- Kevin E. Quinlan Award for Excellence in Traffic Safety, Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, December 2013
- Public Safety Award, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, April 2013
- William Van Regenmorter Public Safety Award, MADD Michigan, August 2008
- National Adjudication Award, National Commission Against Drunk Driving, December 2004
- Certificate of Commendation, Governors Highway Safety Administration, July 2003
- Arson Prosecutor of the Year, International Association of Arson Investigators - MI Chapter, May 2000
