EVALUATION OF A LOCAL DESIGNATED DRIVER AND RESPONSIBLE SERVER PROGRAM TO PREVENT DRINKING AND DRIVING

Point of purchase interventions by beverage alcohol servers provide on e promising approach to preventing drinking and driving and many commu nities now support such programs. To evaluate the impact of a designat ed driver and responsible server program in Houston, we assessed serve r training courses, observed and interviewed servers and patrons at fi ve establishments participating in the program, and reviewed the distr ibution of vouchers awarded for a safe ride home by taxi. The training course for alcoholic beverage servers produced significant improvemen ts in the participants' perceptions about their role in preventing dru nk driving. In five participating establishments 15.6 percent of serve rs wore buttons announcing the establishment's participation in the pr ogram; immediately after retraining 26.6 percent wore the buttons. Of the eligible patrons in these establishments 6.6 percent actually part icipated in the designated driver program. The program provided an ave rage of 0.7 safe ride home vouchers per establishment per month. In on e additional establishment an experiment was conducted in which server s always announced the designated driver program to patrons, but no in crease in the prevalence of designated drivers occurred.