This paper presents a temporal and cross-cultural comparison of the time series of alcohol-related accidents, and accidents not caused by alcohol, in Germany. The data contributing to this comparison are: (1) a comprehensive representative questionnaire survey of the population of West Germany, undertaken by the Federal Highway Institute (BASt) in 1979-80; (2) a repeat of this survey, conducted in Spring 1990 using a sample of 3000; (3) a similar interview survey in East Germany in Autumn 1990, just after German reunification. In the west, now as before, 60% of male and female drivers drive under the influence of alcohol, and less than half believe that they have violated the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit of 80mg/100ml in doing so. In the east, where the legal limit is still zero, 27% of drivers admitted to having driven under the influence of alcohol. In both the western surveys, it was found that approaches to drinking and driving were decisively influenced by: (1) attitudes to the legal BAC limit; (2) evaluation of the risk arising from drinking and driving; (3) evaluation of excessive alcohol consumption; and (4) the driver's sex. In the east, attitudes to the BAC limit were much stricter, and driver's sex was not an influencing factor.
Abstract