Alcohol-affected driving

Governments regulate blood alcohol levels of drivers, as they are known to affect driving performance and crash risk.

Efforts to reduce drink-driving include enforcement by police such as random breath testing, penalties such as fines or license suspension, devices such as car ignition interlocks, and programs such as those encouraging use of a designated driver.

For general information, refer to CARRS-Q's Drink Driving Fact Sheet [PDF, 1.50MB], or the Under the Limit page for information on CARRS-Q's drink driving prevention and rehabilitation program.

A profile of first time drink driving offenders, and the development of a brief computer based intervention for first offenders (2009 - in progress)

Where to after Drink Rite: Identification of opportunities for police and community interaction in promoting an anti-drink driving message (2008 - 2009)

An evaluation of the 'Skipper' designated driver program (2007 - 2010)

Evaluation of the lockout liquor trading hours in Brisbane City and Fortitude Valley (2005 - 2006)

The influence of visible traffic enforcement on the incident of other crime: Implications of intelligence-driven crime prevention (2003 - 2009)

Recent publications by CARRS-Q researchers include:

Freeman, James E. and Watson, Barry C. (2009) Drink driving deterrents and self-reported offending behaviours in a sample of Queensland motorists.  Journal of Safety Research, 40(2). pp. 113-120.

Maxwell, Jane C. and Freeman, James E. and Davey, Jeremy D. (2009) Too young to drink but old enough to drive under the influence : a study of underage offenders as seen in substance abuse treatment in Texas.  Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 104(1-2). pp. 107-112.

Watson, Angela and Watson, Barry (2009) Barriers and facilitators of a designated driver program.  In: 2009 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference : Smarter, Safer Directions, 10-12 November 2009, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sydney, New South Wales.

Nielson, Angela L. and Watson, Barry C. (2008) A profile of designated drivers and the people who use them: A survey of two provincial cities.  In: 2008 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference, 10-12 November 2008, Adelaide South Australia.

Watson, Barry C. and Nielson, Angela L. (2008) An evaluation of the 'Skipper' designated driver program: Preliminary results.  In: High risk road users - motivating behaviour change: what works and what doesn't work? National Conference of the Australasian College of Road Safety and the Travelsafe Committee of the Queensland Parliament, 18-19 September 2008, Brisbane.

Freeman, James E. and Palk, Gavan R. and Davey, Jeremy D. (2008) Reducing alcohol-related injury and harm: The impact of a licensed premises lockout policy.  In: 9th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, 15-18 March 2008, Merida, Mexico.

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