1973 U.S. National Roadside Breathtesting Survey: Procedures and Results

NHTSA - Behavioral Safety Researchhttps://doi.org/10.21949/15248951974PDFResearch PaperWolfe, Arthur C.University of Michigan. Highway Safety Research InstituteUnited States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Office of Driver and Pedestrian ProgramsUnited States. National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationUnited StatesAlcohol breath testsBlood alcohol levelsDrunk driversSurveysStatisticsDOT-HS-801-241UM-HSRI-AL-74-4DOT-HS-031-3-722Interim reportAuthor's abstract: This first U.S. national roadside breathtesting survey was conducted at 185 roadside locations in 18 states. Random samples of 3,698 motorists were stopped between 10PM and 3AM on eight weekends in the fall of 1973. From these drivers 3,358 interviews and 3,192 breath tests were obtained. The basic findings on the extent of drinking and driving during these times were that 22.6% of the drivers in the national sample were at a 0.02% BAC or higher; 13.5% were at a 0.05% BAC or higher; 5.0% were at a 0.10% BAC or higher; and 1.4% were at a 0.15% BAC or higher. The report describes the sampling and operational procedures used in the survey and analyzes the BAC results in relation to a number of geographic and driver characteristics. It concludes that such a survey is a valuable means of providing useful evaluative data at a reasonable cost, and it suggests ten operational improvements for such a future survey. Extensive appendices include much detail on the survey operation and codebooks with marginals for the collected data.129