In the netherlands a publicity campaign is to be held annually from 1986-1991 in order to prevent drunken driving. The target group of the campaigns is the young male driver. The campaign is evaluated by holding a survey amongst the drivers and observing the actual behaviour of drivers and cyclists. The results of observations taken in the autumn of 1987 are presented in this paper. A comparison is also made between this data and that obtained in 1987. The results show that the drunken driving problem is severe; one out of every eight observed car-drivers has a blood alcohol content (bac) of 0.5 per ml or more, the legal limit in the netherlands. Even 25% of the cyclists exceeds this limit. Comparisons with 1986 however show, that there is a significant increase in the numbers of drivers with a very low bac value or a value of zero. This result is the same for drivers and cyclists. Also the influence of the social environment is growing: car-drivers with passengers, especially when there is one female passenger, tend to have lower bac values. It is concluded that the joint influence of publicity, legal measures and law enforcement has led to a positive behavioural change amongst male drivers in the 18-35 age group. The joint efforts will have to be continued over the next few years in order to make these changes lasting. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting