This study presents an investigation of the effects of peer attitude, gender, and blood alcohol level on driving performance using a driving simulator. Subjects were randomly assigned to pro or against drinking driving conditions and tested at different blood alcohol levels. The results revealed that subjects when under the influence of alcohol in the for drinking-driving condition perceived themselves to be more capable than they actually were and drove increasingly faster and made more mistakes than subjects in the against-drinking-driving condition. Significant sex differences were observed only for performance on the driving simulator. Males in the main, engaged in more dangerous driving and risk taking in simulated driving conditions than females.
Abstract