National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behavior: 1993
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Summary
This report presents findings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 1993 National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behavior, comparing them with baseline data from a 1991 survey. The study was motivated by the need to track changes in public attitudes and behaviors regarding alcohol-impaired driving to guide programmatic activities and enforcement strategies. With over 17,000 alcohol-related fatalities in 1992, NHTSA sought to identify shifts in societal values, enforcement perceptions, and intervention behaviors to better target countermeasures. The methodology involved a national probability sample of 4,010 individuals aged 16 and older, including an oversample of 999 young adults (ages 16–29) due to their higher risk profile. Data were collected via telephone interviews between August and October 1993, using random digit dialing and computer-assisted interviewing. The survey assessed attitudes toward drinking and driving, perceived risks, enforcement effectiveness, and self-reported behaviors, including frequency of driving after drinking and riding with impaired drivers. Results were weighted to correct for sampling biases and compared statistically with the 1991 survey to identify trends. Key findings indicate that public concern regarding drinking and driving remains high, with 82% viewing it as a major threat to personal safety and 87% deeming it very important to reduce the problem. While 54% believed most impaired drivers are alcoholics, 89% agreed that non-alcoholic drinkers also pose a serious highway safety risk. Behavioral data showed that 26% of the population drove within two hours of drinking in the past year, and 6% drove when they felt they had consumed too much alcohol to drive safely. Public support for enforcement was strong, with 84% favoring sobriety checkpoints and 71% supporting more severe penalties. Comparisons between 1991 and 1993 revealed minimal changes in the prevalence of drinking and driving behaviors. However, there was a slight decline in the perceived likelihood of being stopped or charged by police, though the perception that penalties would be severe increased. Support for stricter penalties and license suspensions also rose slightly. The significance of this study lies in its provision of longitudinal data demonstrating that while the prevalence of drinking and driving remained stable between 1991 and 1993, public support for stricter enforcement and penalties increased. The findings suggest that while behavioral change was limited, attitudinal shifts toward stronger legal consequences occurred. This information allows NHTSA to refine strategies, focusing on areas where progress has stalled, such as actual driving behaviors, while leveraging growing public support for enforcement measures like sobriety checkpoints and harsher sanctions.
Key finding
The proportion of the public driving after drinking and riding with an impaired driver remained constant from 1991 to 1993, while public support for stronger penalties and enforcement increased despite a slight decline in perceived enforcement likelihood.
Methodology
survey
Sample size: 4010
Provenance
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- Empirical Findings: observational prevalence