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664780.pdf (188.7 KB)

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Article

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Accepted version

Publication date

2016-10

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cc-by-nc-nd (c) Elsevier Ltd, 2016
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/106490

Drinking patterns and drunk-driving behaviour in Catalonia, Spain: A comparative study

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2016.09.031

Abstract

This study explores three alcohol-related databases so as to provide a comprehensive understanding of drinking patterns and the prevalence of alcohol-impaired driving in Catalonia (Spain). The rate of alcohol-impaired drivers is compared with the percentage of drinkers in this population, with a particular focus on heavy episodic drinkers. Two strategies adopted by law enforcement agents when conducting alcohol breath tests are examined: (i) non-random and (ii) random approaches to roadblock location and driver selection. We find that heavy drinker profiles (in terms of age and gender) closely match those of alcohol-impaired drivers detected at strategically located, non-random sobriety checkpoints (especially in the case of female drivers), and that they also correlate with the age-gender distribution of drivers involved in road accidents with victims. Different drink driving patterns are detected when sobriety checkpoints are located randomly and drivers are tested at random. Older drivers are identified as a risk group as they abandon the safer driving habits in relation to alcohol shown when they were middle-aged. A combination of non-random and random controls would increase driver perception of their chances of being detected when drink driving. As such, the whole population, regardless of their drinking profile, would be alerted to the serious personal, social and legal implications of alcohol-impaired driving.

Subject

Consum d'alcohol i accidents de circulació, Accidents de circulació, Estudi de casos

Subject (English)

Drinking and traffic accidents, Traffic accidents, Case studies

Citation

Collections

Articles publicats en revistes (Econometria, Estadística i Economia Aplicada)

Citation

ALCAÑIZ, Manuela, SANTOLINO, Miguel and RAMON, Lluís. Drinking patterns and drunk-driving behaviour in Catalonia, Spain: A comparative study. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 2016. Vol. 42, num. 3, pags. 522-531. ISSN 1369-8478. [consulted: 8 of June of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/106490

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