National survey of drinking and driving attitudes and behavior, 1993

This report presents findings from the first (1991) and second (1993) surveys on attitudes and behaviors of the general public related to drinking and driving conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The purpose of these periodic surveys is to track change in drinking and driving attitudes and behaviors, and thereby provide data needed to guide programmatic activity directed at the drinking and driving problem. The 1991 and 1993 surveys were administered to a national probability sample of driving age individuals residing in the United States. The surveys provide data on various topics relevant to the drinking and driving problem including: support for taking action to reduce the problem, opinions about current enforcement and penalties, expectations of consequences, intervention behavior, avoidance of drinking and driving, frequency of drinking and driving, and frequency of riding with an impaired driver. The surveys suggest that from 1991 to 1993 changes in drinking and driving attitudes and behaviors are small. The proportion of the public that drives after drinking, and the proportion that has placed themselves at risk by riding with an impaired driver held fairly constant from 1991 to 1993. The public's concern about drinking and driving remains high, although there is a small decline from 1991 to 1993 in the public's view of doing something about the problem. The public supports more severe penalties, and strongly favors the use of sobriety checkpoints. Data from both the 1991 and 1993 surveys are available on magnetic media from NTIS, accession number PB95-501755. /Abstract from report summary page/\n