Public traffic safety campaigns in Germany have focused on the changing risk perception of young drivers. While there is some consensus that perceptions of risk affect driving, less is understood about the relationship and interaction of alcohol consumption and risk perception on the decision to drive. The authors examined the influence of light alcohol consumption on risk perception and decision to drive, and the interaction of alcohol consumption and cognitive feedback on the handicapping effect of alcohol on risk perception and decision to drive. In a double-blind block-randomised experimental study of 104 young drivers between 19 and 24 years of age, with two experimentally manipulated independent factors of alcohol consumption (three levels: 0% BAC, 0.015% BAC, 0.03% BAC) and feedback (positive or negative), three dependent variables were assessed: perception of traffic accident risk, subjective judgement about driving-relevant cognitive performance, decision to drive a car. Analyses of variance and covariance were used to analyse differences between levels of experimental factors. The authors found that persons with 0.015 BAC performed better than persons in both other alcohol conditions on the standardised risk perception task. Perceived handicap of driving was significantly more pronounced for negative feedback compared to positive feedback with no influence of the level of alcohol consumption. No significant influence on decision to drive was found of either level of alcohol consumption, feedback or sex. Decision to drive in young drivers could not be influenced by feedback or light consumption. Public health approaches have to find better determining factors. (A)
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