Public Acceptability of Highway Safety Countermeasures. Volume 3, Alcohol and Drug Research

NHTSA - Behavioral Safety Researchhttps://doi.org/10.21949/15250671981PDFResearch PaperVayda, AndreaCrespi, IrvingMathematica Policy Research, Inc.United States. National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationUnited States. National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationUnited StatesHighway safetyCountermeasuresPublic opinionHigh risk driversAlcohol breath testsSurveysDOT-HS-805-972NTIS-PB82110438DOT-HS-6-01466Final reportThis volume, part of a larger study on public attitudes towards proposed highway safety countermeasures for alcohol and drugs, unsafe driving behaviors, and pedestrian safety, discusses reactions to breath testers, drunk-driving deterrence techniques, and roadside surveys. Although not a safety strategy, roadside surveys are necessary to obtain accurate measures of drivers' impairment conditions in order to develop appropriate highway safety programs. Safety strategy acceptability issues in the public survey are presented in relation to demographic characteristics, personal drinking habits, perceived countermeasure effectiveness, and perception of the drinking-driving problem; while likelihood of participation, personal safety, validity of information obtained, and logistical factors in data collection mark the criteria for evaluating roadside surveys. Legal and liability concerns, cost and implementation issues, potential effectiveness, and perceived public opposition exemplify dimensions used by special interest group members to evaluate countermeasure strategies. Perspectives on reactions to countermeasures in other program areas can he found in Volume II for Safe Driving Conformance Research and in Volume IV for Pedestrian Safety. Volume I of this report describes the research methodology, while Volume V (Surmary Report) concisely summarizes the principal results of each of the detailed countermeasure reports and provides guidelines for successful implementation of highway safety countermeasures. /Abstract from report summary page/129