Deterring the drinking driver - Australia's experience

This report contains the text of an address given to the international symposium on alcohol and driving, held in washington dc on 17-18 November 1982, and extensive resource material prepared as briefing for a panel discussion session. The magnitude and nature of the drink driving problem and of legislative measures taken to combat it are described and evidence of the effectiveness of these measures is reviewed. Drink driving is commonplace among Australian men. About 10 per cent of drivers, in a given week, drive with illegally high bacs. Over 15 per cent of drivers on the road in the late night hours of thursday to saturday nights have bacs over 0.05 Per cent. Australian jurisdictions, particularly Victoria, have enacted drink driving legislation that is 'tough' by world standards. However, few evaluations have been conducted. There is little evidence of success for 'per se' laws. Random breath test legislation has been found to decrease night time serious casualty accidents but the available evidence relates only to periods of intensified enforcement. The package of measures taken by Victoria late in 1978 - including harsher penalties, less flexible court procedures and intensified enforcement - has been linked with reduction in the proportion of drivers killed with elevated bacs. A reanalysis of the available data suggests that this conclusion is premature (a).