Exploring an Alternative Transportation Program to Reduce Impaired Driving
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Summary
This study, conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), evaluates a workplace-based intervention designed to reduce impaired driving among adults aged 24 to 49. The research was motivated by the recognition that while deterrence strategies have reduced alcohol-related fatalities, social norms play a critical role in shaping behavior. Specifically, the project aimed to leverage the target demographic’s career focus and concern for employment consequences to promote the use of alternative transportation. The intervention, called CareFare, provided discounted taxi coupons to employees, integrated into an existing community campaign, "Real Behind the Wheel," which emphasized normative themes of responsibility and sobriety. The methodology involved a multi-stage approach beginning with focus groups to identify key motivators for the target group, revealing that concerns about job repercussions were more salient than health or legal fears. Consequently, researchers selected a workplace setting for implementation, recruiting one white-collar (banking) and one blue-collar (manufacturing) employer in Dane County, Wisconsin. Employers were asked to display materials, distribute reminders, and facilitate data collection. The evaluation utilized a mixed-methods design, including pre- and post-intervention employee surveys, focus groups with employees and CareFare purchasers, interviews with taxi drivers and employers, and a review of coupon sales records. The results indicated limited success in the workplace component. Although 1,454 CareFare booklets were sold during the study period, only five were purchased at the participating workplaces, with the majority ordered through external channels. Employee surveys revealed that while baseline norms against impaired driving were already strong, the intervention failed to significantly alter employees' perceptions of employer attitudes toward drinking and driving. Focus groups highlighted significant barriers: employees expressed concerns about confidentiality and felt the program was insufficiently promoted. Employers reported discomfort with addressing impaired driving due to fears of implying condonation of heavy drinking. However, taxi drivers noted that CareFare users were generally less impaired and more responsible than typical late-night passengers, and purchasers found the program attractive, particularly for ensuring safe transport for teenagers. The study concludes that while alternative transportation programs like CareFare are useful adjuncts to prevention strategies, workplace implementation requires careful design to address employer concerns about mixed messages and employee concerns about confidentiality. The findings suggest that such programs may be particularly effective for frequent heavy drinkers but require more vigorous promotion and convenient access to increase uptake. The research underscores that normative themes are most effective when they align with existing practical motivations, such as career protection, and that workplace interventions must be flexible and easy to administer to gain employer support.
Key finding
Only five out of 1,454 CareFare coupon booklets were sold at the participating workplaces, indicating negligible program uptake in the employer setting.
Methodology
mixed_methods
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).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | rosap | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 19 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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Information type
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- Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
- Empirical Findings: observational prevalence