Drinking-driving knowledge, attitudes and behavior : an analysis of the 1973 and 1974 household surveys of the Fairfax Alcohol Safety Action Project.

Beare, Arthur N · 1976 · ROSA P / Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC)

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (full text — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the public information and education (PI & E) campaign component of the Fairfax Alcohol Safety Action Project (ASAP) in Virginia. Motivated by the fact that alcohol intoxication contributes to 40–60% of fatal traffic accidents, the study aims to determine whether the PI & E campaign successfully increased public knowledge, altered attitudes, or changed behaviors regarding drinking and driving between 1973 and 1974. The research utilizes data from household surveys conducted in 1973 and 1974 within the Fairfax ASAP area, which includes Fairfax County and surrounding communities. The methodology involved personal interviews with a random cluster sample of 500 respondents (250 men and 250 women) aged 16 or older. The questionnaire, developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, assessed factual knowledge of intoxication and laws, perceptions of risk, attitudes toward countermeasures, and self-reported driving and drinking behaviors. Statistical analysis included chi-square tests for year-to-year variations and the construction of numerical scales to measure knowledge, perceived risk, rehabilitation attitudes, and driving behavior. The results indicate that the PI & E campaign was largely ineffectual. Factual knowledge of alcohol’s effects and relevant laws remained low and did not increase significantly; for instance, only 68% of respondents answered true-false questions correctly, and many continued to underestimate the number of drinks required to reach legal intoxication levels. There were no meaningful shifts in the public’s perception of the risks associated with driving under the influence, nor were there significant changes in attitudes toward rehabilitative measures or penalties. Behavioral data showed little change overall, though there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of respondents who reported occasionally or often driving after drinking. Additionally, awareness of the ASAP campaign decreased, with fewer respondents identifying television as a source of information. The study concludes that the public information and education efforts during the year preceding the 1974 survey failed to enhance general alcohol-related knowledge or modify public attitudes toward drinking drivers. The author suggests this ineffectiveness may stem from a shift in campaign focus toward educating the public about the ASAP program itself rather than the dangers of alcohol and driving. Consequently, the findings imply that the PI & E strategy, as implemented during this period, did not achieve its intended safety objectives.

Key finding

Public information and education campaigns failed to significantly increase alcohol-related knowledge or change public attitudes toward drinking drivers, while the proportion of respondents reporting they often or occasionally drove after drinking increased.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 500

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• public messaging

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence