The conference released a major study carried out by the Harvard School of Public Health profiling the young adults who are most at risk for impaired driving and included exploration by marketing experts of how to reach the 21 to 34-year-old age group to change their drinking and driving behavior. The Harvard study concluded that the most high risk subgroup is made up of predominantly white males in blue collar occupations with a high school education or less who most often drink beer. Many of these drivers are problem drinkers. The primary means of reducing drinking and driving by this group, short of extensive substance abuse treatment, is intervention by others at the scene, such as spouses or girlfriends. In the second part of the report, marketing experts provided unique insights on communicating messages effectively to young adults. The experts concluded that friends are extremely important to this group and should be part of efforts to change attitudes about drinking and driving. Scare tactics and negative messages may not work. Good venues for messages include worksites as well as places where this group tends to drink, such as sports bars.
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