YOUNG MALE DRINKERS AND IMPAIRED DRIVING INTERVENTION - RESULTS OF A US TELEPHONE SURVEY

The present study examines the role of interveners in the driving beha vior of a group of drivers at higher risk for involvement in a fatal, alcohol-related motor vehicle accident than the general population, ba sed on their demographic characteristics. The sample consisted of men, aged 21-34 years, living in areas where alcohol-involved motor vehicl e fatalities most commonly occur. More than one-half (55%) of these me n reported having been the target of an intervention to prevent them f rom drinking and driving. The variables most strongly associated with having been the target of an intervention were: involvement in an acci dent after drinking; frequency of driving after drinking too much to d rive safely; binge drinking; reporting that it takes ten or more drink s to feel drunk. Age, total alcohol consumption and the relationship b etween the target and the intervener predicted intervention success. P ersons who have close relationships with drinking drivers, particularl y wives/girlfriends, are most likely to be successful in preventing th ese men from drinking and driving. To the extent they can be encourage d to safely intervene, wives/girlfriends and close friends may be pote ntial targets for messages promoting informal social control of drinki ng and driving. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.