Why People Drink and Drive: The Bases of Drinking-and-Driving Decisions

McKnight, A.J.; Langston, E.A.; McKnight, A.S.; Lange, J.E.; Resnick, J. A. · 1995 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This 1995 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigates the specific decision-making processes that lead to alcohol-impaired driving. The study was motivated by the limitations of previous research, which relied on structured surveys asking drivers to generalize across multiple past experiences. The authors argued that such methods failed to capture the nuanced, situational bases of individual decisions. To address this, the study aimed to identify the specific decisions leading to impaired driving, the bases for those decisions, associated individual characteristics, and implications for safety countermeasures. The researchers employed a "Critical Incident" approach, adapted from accident analysis and relapse prevention literature, to analyze specific instances of drinking and driving rather than general behaviors. The study sample consisted of 600 drivers recruited through three methods: random telephone solicitation, DWI service providers, and roadside surveys in five locations across urban and rural settings in the United States. Alcohol-dependent individuals were excluded to focus on decision-making rather than chemical dependency. Participants underwent unstructured, audio-recorded interviews lasting 30 to 60 minutes, in which they detailed the chain of events and decision points surrounding a single recent incident of impaired driving. These decision points included planning for the event, transportation choices, drinking activities, and the final decision to drive. Data processing involved analyzing over 12,000 individual decision bases described by the participants. The results identified that decision bases were highly specific to individual incidents but followed a consistent hierarchy of influence. Social and environmental factors exerted the strongest influence on decisions, followed by personal influences, the nature of the occasion, economic considerations, pre-existing plans, and usual behavioral patterns. The study detailed how these factors operated across various stages, from the initial decision to attend a drinking event to the final choice to drive rather than use alternative transportation. For instance, social pressure and the desire to avoid leaving a car were significant drivers, while feelings of responsibility and availability of transportation alternatives played critical roles in the final decision to drive. The significance of these findings lies in their implications for targeted safety interventions. The authors concluded that effective countermeasures must address the social environment, urging friends, hosts, and alcohol sellers to avoid inadvertently encouraging over-consumption and impaired driving. Additionally, the study highlighted the need for better planning regarding alternatives to both drinking and driving, and suggested that interventions should help drinkers and their peers redefine their perceived "responsibilities" in situations leading to alcohol-impaired driving. By moving beyond generalizations to specific incident analysis, the report provides a more valid foundation for understanding and mitigating the complex decision chains that result in DWI.

Key finding

Social environment influences exerted the strongest effect on drinking-and-driving decisions, followed by personal influences, the occasion, economic considerations, prior plans, and habitual behaviors.

Methodology

mixed_methods

Sample size: 600

Provenance

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

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• dui enforcement