Random Breath Testing was introduced in Sweden in the seventies. The aim of the present study was to study effects of RBT. For this purpose, a RBT campaign was started in parts of southern Sweden during the autumn of 1992 and lasted less than a year. The RBT units were provided with special traffic signs, and attempts were made to attract media attention. Comparisons were made with a control area in southern and middle Sweden. The study was a questionnaire study, complemented with an analysis of accident figures. The questionnaire was sent to 1500 car owners in each of the two comparison areas on two occasions, before the start of the campaign and a year later. No effects of the campaign were found for subjective risk of detection or for driving after alcohol consumption. The only effect that appeared was an attitude change in the desired direction to driving with BAC above the legal limit. The accident analysis did not demonstrate any effect of the campaign. A stepwise regression analysis, however, indicates that the subjective risk of detection can be increased by RBT. (A)
Abstract