Survey Forms for Conducting Alcohol Highway Safety Surveys

Vegega, Maria E. · 1985 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This 1985 technical note from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) addresses the need for standardized tools to evaluate the effectiveness of state and local anti-drinking-driving programs. As enforcement and public information activities increased during the 1980s, there was a pressing requirement for jurisdictions to assess the impact of these initiatives on driver attitudes, knowledge, and behavior. The document provides five pretested survey questionnaires designed to help practitioners measure program outcomes, establish baseline data, or compare local metrics against national standards. The methodology involved refining a previously published inventory of over 200 survey items. To ensure reliability and clarity, the selected items underwent pretesting for understanding and interpretability, with ambiguous questions removed. The resulting instruments are formatted for telephone administration, including specific instructions, probes, and skip patterns to aid interviewers. The report details the structure of five distinct forms: Form A emphasizes general deterrence, focusing on the perceived risk of apprehension and punishment; Form B (available in short and long versions) focuses on public information and education, targeting attitudes and avoidance behaviors; Form C combines both deterrence and education emphases; and Form D provides a "core" set of questions that can be supplemented with local-specific items. The findings presented in the document are the finalized survey instruments themselves, rather than empirical data from a specific study. The report specifies the content and administration time for each form. Form A contains 34 questions with an average administration time of 10 minutes. Form B includes 34 questions (Version 1) or 47 questions (Version 2), taking 10 to 13 minutes. Form C has 44 questions (12 minutes), and Form D has 35 questions (10 minutes). The surveys cover five key topic areas: general demographics, attitudes about drinking and driving, perceived risk of detection and punishment, actions taken to avoid driving while impaired, and knowledge of alcohol impairment. Figures in the report map the specific item sets included in each form, highlighting overlaps and unique components, such as the additional 12 questions on avoidance actions in the long version of Form B. The significance of this work lies in providing field practitioners with ready-to-use, scientifically validated tools for highway safety research. By offering pretested forms, the NHTSA reduced the resource burden on jurisdictions wishing to conduct surveys, ensuring that data collected on deterrence and education programs is comparable and reliable. The document serves as a practical guide for selecting the appropriate instrument based on whether a jurisdiction’s primary interest lies in enforcement deterrence, public education, or a combination of both, thereby facilitating more effective evaluation of strategies aimed at reducing alcohol-impaired driving.

Key finding

Five standardized survey forms were developed and pretested to assess general deterrence and public information/education programs aimed at reducing alcohol-impaired driving.

Methodology

dataset

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• dui enforcement

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation