Profiling drunk driving recidivists in Denmark

Analyzing fatal crash patterns of recidivist drivers across genders and age Groups: A hazard-based duration approach

Identifying factors that significantly affect drivers that are repeatedly involved in traffic violations or non-fatal crashes (defined here as recidivist drivers) is very important in highway safety studies. This study sought to understand the relationship between a set of variables related to previous driving violations and the duration between a previous non-fatal crash and a subsequent fatal crash, taking into account the age and gender of the driver. By identifying the characteristics of this unique driver population and the factors that influence the duration between their crash events strategies can be put in place to prevent the occurrence of future and potentially fatal crashes. To do this, a five-year (2015-2019) historical fatal crash data from the United States was used for this study. Out of 15,956 fatal crashes involving recidivist drivers obtained, preliminary analysis revealed an overrepresentation of males (about 75%). It was also found that the average duration between the two crash events was about a year and a half, with only an average of one month difference between male and female drivers. Using hazard-based duration models, factors such as number of previous crashes, previous traffic violations, primary contributing factors and some driver demographic characteristics were found to significantly be associated with the duration between the two crash events. The duration between the two events increased with driver's age for drivers who were involved in only one previous crash and the duration was shorter for those that were previously involved in multiple crashes. Previous DUI violations, license suspensions, and previous speeding violations were found to be associated with shorter durations, at varying degrees depending on the driver's age and gender. The duration was also observed to be longer if the fatal crash involved alcohol or drug use among younger drivers but shorter among middle-aged male drivers. These findings reveal interesting dynamics that may be linked to recidivist tendencies among some drivers involved in fatal crashes. The factors identified from this study could help identify crash countermeasures and programs that will help to reform such driver behaviors.

Non-Invasive Alcohol Concentration Measurement Using a Spectroscopic Module: Outlook for the Development of a Drunk Driving Prevention System

Alcohol acts as a central nervous system depressant and falls under the category of psychoactive drugs. It has the potential to impair vital bodily functions, including cognitive alertness, muscle coordination, and induce fatigue. Taking the wheel after consuming alcohol can lead to delayed responses in emergency situations and increases the likelihood of collisions with obstacles or suddenly appearing objects. Statistically, drivers under the influence of alcohol are seven times more likely to cause accidents compared to sober individuals. Various techniques and methods for alcohol measurement have been developed. The widely used breathalyzer, which requires direct contact with the mouth, raises concerns about hygiene. Methods like chromatography require skilled examiners, while semiconductor sensors exhibit instability in sensitivity over measurement time and has a short lifespan, posing structural challenges. Non-dispersive infrared analyzers face structural limitations, and in-vehicle air detection methods are susceptible to external influences, necessitating periodic calibration. Despite existing research and technologies, there remain several limitations, including sensitivity to external factors such as temperature, humidity, hygiene consideration, and the requirement for periodic calibration. Hence, there is a demand for a novel technology that can address these shortcomings. This study delved into the near-infrared wavelength range to investigate optimal wavelengths for non-invasively measuring blood alcohol concentration. Furthermore, we conducted an analysis of the optical characteristics of biological substances, integrated these data into a mathematical model, and demonstrated that alcohol concentration can be accurately sensed using the first-order modeling equation at the optimal wavelength. The goal is to minimize user infection and hygiene issues through a non-destructive and non-invasive method, while applying a compact spectrometer sensor suitable for button-type ignition devices in vehicles. Anticipated applications of this study encompass diverse industrial sectors, including the development of non-invasive ignition button-based alcohol prevention systems, surgeon's alcohol consumption status in the operating room, screening heavy equipment operators for alcohol use, and detecting alcohol use in close proximity to hazardous machinery within factories.

Subsequent risky driving behaviors, recidivism and crashes among drivers with a traffic violation: A scoping review

PURPOSE

Drivers who have committed a traffic violation are a particularly high-risk group, yet studies conducted among this group are scarce. We analyzed and synthesized the current literature concerning subsequent risky driving behaviors, recidivism, and crashes among drivers with a traffic violation.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Academic Search Complete, Web of Science, and Scopus for articles published in English between January 1, 1999, and May 31, 2023. A total of 25 articles met the selection criteria and were included in the final analysis. Two coders independently extracted and analyzed the selected articles to identify common categories across the articles, including study design, study population, type of traffic violation, and study outcomes including subsequent driving behaviors, recidivism, and crash risks.

RESULTS

Of the 25 selected articles, 19 (76%) involved both male and female participants. Fourteen (56%) studies were interventions/evaluation studies, with the other 11 (44%) being observational. Nineteen (76%) studies included alcohol-impaired driving violations, and 23 (92%) studies examined recidivism as an outcome measure. Over half of the observational studies demonstrated that traffic offenders were more likely to commit a subsequent traffic violation or had elevated risk of crashes. Most of the intervention/evaluation studies demonstrated a significant reduction in driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol among the study participants. However, such positive effects observed during the active intervention period were not always sustained.

CONCLUSIONS

Traffic offenders are a high-risk group for subsequent violations and crashes. Evidence from this review calls for more effective interventions implemented following a traffic violation to prevent recidivism, crashes, and crash-related injuries and deaths.

A descriptive analysis of drivers under the influence of opioids in Kentucky

Despite the ongoing opioid epidemic and evidence of the increasing prevalence of driving under the influence of opioids, particularly in rural communities, there remains a limited understanding of those who drive under the influence of opioids. The current study aims to fill this gap in the literature by examining drivers under the influence of opioids (DUIOs) using the clinical substance use assessment records of a statewide sample of drivers convicted of driving under the influence (N = 15,917); first identifying differences between DUIOs and drivers under the influence of other, non-opioid substances, followed by an examination of factors associated with driving under the influence of opioids in combination with other substances, and finally, comparing rural and urban DUIOs (N = 1,571). Bivariate analyses were used to compare groups, while a logistic regression model was used to identify correlates of other substance involvement. DUIOs differed from drivers under the influence of other, non-opioid substances, such as being more likely to be convicted in a rural community (65.7% vs 53.6%) and to be under the influence of multiple substances at the time of arrest (42.0% vs 7.1%). Among DUIOs, a rural conviction (p =.016) and meeting DSM criteria for an alcohol (p <.001) and drug use disorder (p <.001) were positively associated with driving under the influence of opioids in combination with other substances. Results also highlighted a number of differences between rural and urban DUIOs, including other substance involvement. Urban DUIOs were more likely to report alcohol involvement in their DUI arrest (16.7% vs 9.1%), and rural DUIOs were more likely to report other, non-opioid drug involvement (36.9% vs 29.1%). Results suggest a possible need for different prevention and treatment approaches depending on rural/urban environment, which is noteworthy given limited treatment availability and other barriers to substance use treatment in rural communities.

Typology of aggressive and transgressive drivers

The present study investigates the pattern in which transgressive and aggressive driving motives and aggressive driving were ordered in different clusters of drivers. To establish the difference between profiles, anger disorders, state-trait anger, and motives for transgression and respect for traffic rules were studied and compared between clusters. A total of 383 participants (laypersons), of all age and gender, filled out self-report measures evaluating aggressive driving, state-trait anger, anger disorders, aggressive driving motives, and motives for transgression and respect for traffic rules. Results show the emergence of four profiles of drivers: Respectful, Aggressive-Avenger, Aggressive-Dominant, and Aggressive-Situational. The difference between these clusters has been confirmed by the high tendency of anger disorders for Aggressive-Dominant, low tendency of aggressive driving for Respectful, high tendency for motives for aggressive driving as altruistic protection for Aggressive-Avenger, and high tendency of speeding for Aggressive-Situational. Our findings strongly support the importance of creating programs adapted to each driver's profile.

Cigarette Smoking as a Predictor of Male DUI Recidivism

This study aimed to investigate the predictors of recidivism in first-time driving under the influence (DUI) offenders, analyzing variables derived from medico-legal and toxicological examinations. The research was structured as a comparative study for the period 2012-2019. DUI offenders with a blood alcohol concentration >0.5 were included in the study. The case group consisted of recidivist offenders, while the comparison group consisted of first-time offenders. Personal data, socioeconomics, and parameters linked to the DUI were compared between the two groups. Significance was determined by chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests. To prevent confounding effects, multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was performed. Our sample encompassed 1678 subjects (196 in the case group, 1482 in the comparison group). Gender, driving license category, education, and tobacco use resulted in significant differences between the groups. In a model including age at DUI, education, and smoking habit as independent variables, higher educational levels (high school, bachelor's) and older age protected against recidivism, whereas smoking >20 cigarettes/day was an independent risk factor for recidivism. Recidivist offenders have specific characteristics indicating different therapeutic programs and carefulness in driving license regranting. A higher tobacco consumption in recidivists suggests that the use of this substance could influence the risk of DUI for reasons that will need to be explored.

Assessing Willingness to Engage in Risky Driving Behaviour Using Naturalistic Driving Footage: The Role of Age and Gender

Young novice drivers are more prone than older drivers to get involved in a risky driving situation. Some young drivers underestimate risk while overestimating their driving abilities, increasing the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviour. Age and inexperience both influence risk estimation, though it is not clear which of these variables is more important. Can drivers’ willingness to engage in risky behaviour be assessed in a similar way to hazard perception skill using video-based risky situations? The aim of the current study was to assess whether a video-based tool could measure the willingness to participate in risky driving situations and whether it can distinguish between different types of risky driving scenarios across gender and driver age groups. We also explored the moderating effect of age and gender on drivers’ experience in relation to the risky manoeuvres and participants’ willingness to engage in risky situations. Participants were presented with naturalistic videos from the perspective of the driver that contained active risky situations (result of driver’s own actions) and were asked to make a decision regarding a potential action (to overtake a bus/bicycle or pass through an amber light) and whether they would accelerate at this point. Participants reported that they were more willing to accelerate and overtake cyclists and buses and less willing to pass a light in amber. Young drivers were more willing to both engage in the risky behaviours and accelerate than older drivers, with young males reporting higher scores than the other groups. Gender differences were observed, with males being more prone to overtake and pass through a light in amber than females; however, this difference was not observed for the intention to accelerate. All the above effects remained when we tested the impact of experience on decision making while controlling for age and gender, although driving experience was no longer significant. These results demonstrate that drivers’ intention to assume risk can indeed be measured in a similar video-based methodology to that used by hazard perception tests. The findings raise the possibility of assessing and training drivers on a wider range of safety-related behaviours.

Drink driving engagement in women: An exploration of context, hazardous alcohol use, and behaviour

Background

While drink driving continues to be significantly more common among male drivers, there is evidence from many countries that shows a growing trend of women engaging in this risky behaviour. The aims of the current study were threefold: (i) determine to what extent a sample of women drivers reported engaging in drink driving behaviour by expanding the construct into a range of definitions, (ii) determine if there were significant differences in self-reported engagement in drink driving behaviours in accordance with hazardous drinking behaviour, and (iii) identify which situational or personal factors would increase women drivers’ likelihood to engage in drink driving through presenting a range of scenarios.

Method

Data were collected using an on-line, purpose-designed survey and promoted to reach women aged 17 years and older, living in Queensland, Australia. In addition to questions relating to demographic characteristics, participants completed items relating to engagement in seven drink driving related behaviours in the previous 12-month period, hazardous drinking as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and likelihood of driving when unsure if over the legal limit for licence type across a range of scenarios manipulating different situational factors. A total of 644 valid responses were received in the two-week period the study was advertised.

Results

The results demonstrate women’s self-reported engagement in drink driving behaviour ranged from 12.6% (driving when they believed they were over the legal limit) to over 50.0% (driving when unsure if over the legal limit the morning after drinking alcohol) and was significantly more likely among those who reported hazardous levels of alcohol use. Circumstances in which women reported they would drive when unsure if over the legal BAC limit were when they were a few blocks from home, if they subjectively felt they were not too intoxicated, or if they needed their car to get somewhere the next morning.

Conclusion

Examining drink driving behaviour by way of responses to nuanced definitions provided valuable insight into self-reported engagement in the behaviour and highlights the usefulness of multi-measure dependent variables in order to illuminate a more accurate acknowledgement into both the type (and extent) of drink driving behaviours.

Exploring the Effect of Driving Factors on Traffic Crash Risk among Intoxicated Drivers: A case Study in Wujiang

Intoxicated driving is a threat to both drivers and other road users. Exploring the association between intoxicated driving factors and traffic crashes is essential for taking effective countermeasures. Most previous works have studied the relation between intoxicated driving and traffic crash based on some large-sized cities. The current study aims to evaluate the effect of driving factors on traffic crashes among intoxicated drivers in a small-sized city in China. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis are performed to guide the study, and the data (N = 1010) for the period 2016–2017 in Wujiang (i.e., a small-sized city in China) are employed as the target samples. The results demonstrate age, years of driving experience, road position, week, hour and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) are associated with traffic crashes in Wujiang. Specifically, the age of “18–25”, the years of driving experience of “≤2”, the “road intersection”, the “weekend”, the period of “0:00–6:59” and the BAC of “above 150 mg/100 mL” are more likely to cause traffic crashes among intoxicated drivers. The findings can be referred to make some targeted policies or measures to relieve Wujiang’s intoxicated driving situation and reduce the number of crashes caused by intoxicated driving.

Driving while impaired by alcohol: An analysis of drink-drivers involved in UK collisions

Objective: Drink-driving represents a critical issue on international organizations' agendas as one of the key behavioral risk factors in road traffic safety, alongside speed and nonuse of motorcycle helmets, seat belts, and child restraints. Changing road user behaviors regarding these 5 factors is a critical component in reducing road traffic injuries and casualties. The objective of this study is the identification of drivers who are more likely to contribute to crashes in the UK while impaired by alcohol to design targeted drink drive compliance campaigns. Method: To profile drivers with the factor "impaired by alcohol" assigned in collisions, an extensive data set is used, including all reported injury collisions between 2011 and 2015 in the UK (police records), merged with the Experian Mosaic Database. A multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression is conducted, utilizing the hierarchical nature of the data (drivers within Mosaic types). Results: Using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis, the finding is that some driver profiles are more likely to contribute to crashes and are assigned the contributory factor "impaired by alcohol." Drink-related crashes are more common in some circumstances or for some crash-involved driver groups than others. For instance, alcohol-related crashes are more likely to occur on single carriageways and among males and 25- to 35-year-olds. Drink-drive-related crashes are found to be strongly associated with dark lighting conditions and, more specifically, with late night hours (the interval between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. accounts for a third of the drink-drive-related collisions). Using the Experian Mosaic Database which divides the UK population into 66 types based on demographic, lifestyle, and behavior characteristics, the finding is that, among crash-involved drivers, some Mosaic types are significantly more likely (e.g., pocket pensions, dependent greys, streetwise singles) and others are significantly less likely (e.g., crowded kaleidoscope, cultural comfort, penthouse chic) to contribute to a drink-related crash. Conclusions: The outcome is a more nuanced understanding of drivers contributing to drink-related crashes in the UK. The study concludes by discussing the implications for governments and other interested bodies for better targeting and delivery of public education campaigns and interventions.

Alcohol Advertising, Affordability and Availability, and the Effect on Adult Heavy Drinking and Symptoms of Alcohol Problems: International Alcohol Control Study (South Africa)

Background: Alcohol harm is a major contributor to the burden of disease in South Africa. This study aimed to identify the extent of heavy drinking and symptoms of alcohol problems among adult drinkers and associated demographic and other risk factors in the Tshwane Metropole of South Africa. Methods: A household survey was conducted using multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling. Heavy drinking was defined as consuming at least 120 mL for men and at least 90 mL for women of absolute alcohol on one occasion at least monthly while symptoms of alcohol problems were measured using the Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen 4 (RAPS4). Stata 14.0 was used for the analysis. Results: Just over half (52%) of the sample reported heavy drinking, and half (50%) reported symptoms of alcohol problems. Gender race/ethnicity, marital status, mode of transport used to purchase alcohol, perceptions of alcohol availability and exposure to alcohol promotions and advertising through SMS and free offers when buying alcohol all impacted heavy drinking. Gender, age, personal income and exposure to alcohol promotions and advertising in magazines and newspapers all impacted symptoms of alcohol problems. Conclusion: The study raises important questions about various policy related mechanisms to curtail heavy drinking and highlights the need for more extensive research to assess the nature and extent of heavy drinking and alcohol problems in South Africa.

Estimating factors of individual and regional characteristics affecting the drink driving recidivism

Traffic violations, particularly drink driving, are a menace to the drivers themselves, and to other road users. Drink driving crashes often cause death or serious injury to the driver. Understanding the recidivism effect factor of drink driving is essential for designing effective countermeasures. This study is based on register-based data from the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior of Taiwan and monthly administrative area information from 2012 to 2015 for the entire population. Hence, this study not only focuses on the effect factor and violation differences between recidivists and non-recidivists, but discusses the entire regional characteristics effect for recidivism. The purpose of this study is to offer a comprehensive econometrical framework, using a multilevel random effect logistic model, which highlights important contributors to drink driving recidivism from regional attributes. As the study findings from our empirical results indicate, there are statistically significant differences with drink driving in administrative areas, depending on the number of report on drink driving by police, divorce rate of the population, alcohol consumption, number of community security patrol teams, number of bus trips, and level of education. The results of this study provide suggestions to the government for enhancing community security and developing public transportation, both of which can effectively decrease drink driving recidivism and improve public road safety.

Psychopathology and traffic violations in subjects who have lost their driving license

BACKGROUND

The persistence of risky behaviors while driving and traffic accidents despite campaigns to increase awareness suggest that there may be underlying causes that maintain proneness to traffic violations. The aim of the current study was to assess: a) the prevalence of psychopathology in a sample of people who have lost their driving license due to former traffic violations and b) the discriminatory capacity of each psychopathological disorder to differentiate among people with high and low proneness to perform risky behaviors while driving.

METHODS

383 participants in a course to recover their driving license after its loss due to previous traffic violations were included. The International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) according to DSM-IV was used to assess psychopathology.

RESULTS

Between 67% and 76.2% of the participants had been affected by a lifetime psychopathological disorder until the moment of assessment. The most prevalent diagnoses were substance abuse including alcohol (52.5-62.7%), ADHD (19.7-28.5%), depression (7.9-14.4%) and anxiety (3.6-12.4%). Substance abuse and ADHD also showed the strongest set of associations with specific risk behaviors, but ADHD emerged as the most discriminant disorder to distinguish between those people at high and low risk of while driving.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the current study suggest that addressing psychopathology explicitly to prevent risky behaviors and recidivism while driving would provide benefits in this area.

The characteristics of young Indigenous drink drivers in Queensland, Australia

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the prevalence and characteristics of first drink driving convictions among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians (aged from 14 to 24) and considers some of the risk factors associated with recidivism.

METHODS

Convictions recorded between 2006 and 2013 were extracted from the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney General database. Convictions were regrouped by gender, age, Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia classification, and sentence severity. Chi-square analyses and logistic regression were conducted to identify group differences in offense characteristics for gender and recidivism (recidivists versus nonrecidivists).

RESULTS

The sample consisted of 1,583 individuals (74.1% males) convicted in the 8-year period. Gender comparisons showed that there was no significant difference in age at time of first offense, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level at apprehension, or type of penalty received between males and females. However, males received larger fines and longer periods of license disqualification. Comparisons for reoffending and non-reoffending revealed that males, drivers aged 14-17 years of age and 18 to 20 years of age, and inner regional drivers were more likely to reoffend.

CONCLUSIONS

There were limited differences between females and males or recidivists and nonrecidivists at first conviction. Convictions for drink driving may provide an opportunity for early alcohol intervention with Indigenous young drivers (<20 years) because it is likely to be an individual's first alcohol-related conviction.

How indicative is a self-reported driving behaviour profile of police registered traffic law offences?

Although most motorised countries have experienced massive improvements in road safety over the last decades, human behaviour and differences in accident risk across sub-groups of drivers remains a key issue in the area of road safety. The identification of risk groups requires the identification of reliable predictors of safe or unsafe driving behaviour. Given this background, the aim of this study was to test whether driver sub-groups identified based on self-reported driving behaviour and skill differed in registered traffic law offences and accidents, and whether group membership was predictive of having traffic law offences. Sub-groups of drivers were identified based on the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI), while traffic offences and accidents were register-based (Statistics Denmark). The participants (N=3683) were aged 18-84 years and randomly selected from the Danish Driving License Register. Results show that the driver sub-groups differed significantly in registered traffic offences but not in registered accidents. In a logistic regression analysis, the sub-group "Violating unsafe drivers" was found predictive of having a traffic offence, even when socio-demographic variables and exposure were controlled for. The most important predictive factor, however, was having a criminal record for non-traffic offences, while gender, living without a partner, and being self-employed also had a significant effect. The study confirms the use of the DBQ and DSI as suitable instruments for predicting traffic offences while also confirming previous results on accumulation of problematic behaviours across life contexts. The finding that driver sub-groups did not differ in registered accidents supports the recent research activities in finding and modelling surrogate safety measures.