Evaluating impaired drivers confidence and intention to "(Please) drink responsibly"

Currently, alcohol industry-sponsored advertisements subsume traditional designated driver and don't drink and drive messages within responsible drinking campaigns. Yet, to date, there remains a dearth of literature specifically examining the attitudinal beliefs impaired drivers attach to the responsible drinking message.

This investigation sought to examine the responsible drinking attitudes and beliefs of impaired drivers, specifically examining their confidence and intention to drink responsibly the next time they consumed alcohol.

A random sample of 729 students attending a large, public Texas university completed a web-based administration of the Characteristic of Responsible Drinking Survey (CHORDS).

Participants in this sample who had driven while impaired by alcohol exhibited significantly less confidence in refraining from drinking and driving and reported significantly lower intentions to designate a driver, take a taxi, or use a safe-ride program the next time they consumed alcohol. Additionally, they also reported less confidence, and lower intentions, to ensure their blood alcohol concentrations remained below the legal limit (0.08%) the next time they consumed alcohol.

Drivers who had driven while impaired significantly differed in their confidence and intention to drink responsibly the next time they consumed alcohol. Logistic regression results indicate that by increasing one's confidence in responsible drinking, and increasing their intention to drink responsibly, the likelihood of impaired driving can be decreased.

Results from this investigation demonstrate one's responsible drinking attitudinal beliefs accounts for a significant amount of the variance associated with one's alcohol-related behaviors. Thus, further research should examine and establish how individuals conceptualize and practice responsible drinking.