National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behavior: 1995

Jones, Timothy L.; Boyle, John M., 1947- · 1996 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report presents findings from the 1995 National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behavior, the third in a series of biennial surveys conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The study aims to track changes in public attitudes and behaviors regarding alcohol-impaired driving to guide programmatic interventions. The survey was administered via computer-assisted telephone interviewing to a national probability sample of 4,008 driving-age individuals (age 16 and older), including an oversample of youth aged 16–20. The data allows for comparisons with previous surveys from 1991 and 1993. The 1995 findings indicate a decline in drinking and driving behaviors compared to earlier years. The proportion of the population aged 16–64 who reported driving within two hours of drinking in the past year decreased from 28% in 1991 and 1993 to 24% in 1995. Similarly, the percentage of individuals who rode with a driver who may have consumed too much alcohol to drive safely dropped from 15% in 1991 to 11% in 1995. Demographically, males were significantly more likely than females to drive after drinking (31% vs. 13%), with males in their 20s representing the highest-risk group (39%). "Problem drinkers," defined by specific consumption criteria or CAGE questionnaire responses, constituted 16% of drinking-drivers but accounted for 20% of all drinking-driving trips. Public attitudes toward enforcement and penalties shifted toward stricter measures. Support for more frequent sobriety checkpoints increased from 64% in 1993 to 67% in 1995. The percentage of the public believing penalties for drinking and driving violations should be "much more severe" rose substantially from 37% in 1993 to 46% in 1995. Despite these positive trends, concern remained high: 86% of respondents viewed drinking and driving as "very important" to address, and 79% considered it a "major threat" to personal safety. However, the use of designated drivers declined, with fewer individuals reporting they had served as or ridden with a designated driver in the past year compared to 1993. The study concludes that while positive changes in attitudes and behaviors have occurred since 1991, drinking and driving remains a significant public safety issue. Drivers who drink are more likely to be involved in crashes than non-drinking drivers. The data suggests that while public support for enforcement is growing, behavioral changes such as reduced frequency of drinking-driving trips and increased intervention by peers are contributing to the decline in prevalence. These findings provide NHTSA with evidence to continue targeting prevention efforts, particularly among young males and problem drinkers, while leveraging public support for stricter penalties and enforcement strategies.

Key finding

The proportion of the population aged 16 to 64 who reported driving after drinking in the past year declined from 28 percent in previous surveys to 24 percent in 1995.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 4008

Provenance

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

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• dui enforcement
• sex gender

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence