Investigating the decision-making processes that contribute to impaired driving.

PDFTech Report514-13-803Impaired driversDrunk driversBehaviorAttitudesCollege studentsAdvertising campaignsNevadaNevada. Dept. of TransportationDuckworth, M. P.Renqvist, J. G.Dahir, V. B.University of Nevada, RenoUS Transportation CollectionAlcohol-impaired (AI) driving continues to cause a disproportionate number of fatalities within the college andyoung adult populations, indicating optimal prevention programs for AI driving have yet to be developed. Thecurrent study tested the efficacy of two theoretically- and empirically-based online video advertisements atreducing AI driving willingness and behavior in a sample of 108 college students at high risk for future AIdriving. The relations of AI driving risk factors to AI driving willingness and behavior in a larger sample of 600college students was also tested. Findings revealed that students who viewed either advertisement reporteddecreases in general willingness to drive after drinking, while participants who did not view an advertisementreported increases in general willingness to drive after drinking. While viewing an advertisement was notassociated with decreased AI driving, study participants reported a significant decrease in AI driving overall.Findings revealed AI driving risk and decision-making factors to have both shared and unique relations to drivingafter \ue2\u20ac\u153perhaps too much to drink\ue2\u20ac? and driving \ue2\u20ac\u153shortly after three or more drinks.\ue2\u20ac? Findings from the currentstudy provide preliminary support for the efficacy of both advertisements in reducing general willingness to driveafter drinking within the subgroup of the college population most at risk for AI driving. Additionally, this studytakes one of the first steps in developing an AI driving model that accounts for the influence of sociodemographic,dispositional, historical, and current AI driving risk factors as well as rational and emotional decision-makingfactors