This study was designed to identify consistencies among drinking and driving measures from three sources: a roadside survey, a subsequent interview, and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records. Data pertain to 362 drivers recruited at late-night, weekend roadside surveys. Relationships were noted among the three sets of data, in that the roadside BAC, DMV records, and self-reported alcohol use and drink-driving behaviours show strong associations. Multiple regression analyses indicate that measures of usual drinking and drink-driving behaviors effectively predict roadside BAC. However, self-reported weekend drinking is not a predictor of weekend nocturnal roadside BAC nor are scores BAC nor are scores on an alcohol problem scale. The data suggest that future studies should address: (1) drivers' BACs at times other than late-night Fridays and Saturdays, to determine whether these are also more closely related to usual drinking patterns; and (2) more detailed investigations of the immediate circumstances preceding drinking-driving, ie natural histories of decisions to drink and drive. These studies should also be conducted on both weekdays and weekends and should concentrate on reasons both for drinking and for motorists' decisions to drive after drinking. (A)
Abstract