Understanding the Cause and Diversity of Women's Drink and Drug Driving-A Qualitative Exploration

Drink and drug driving continues to pose a significant public health risk, with incidents increasing among women. Building on limited prior research, this study situates women's substance-impaired driving within a psychosocial and gender-responsive criminological framework to explore women's experiences with impaired driving.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with N = 27 women apprehended for drink or drug driving within the past 5 years in Queensland, Australia. Data were analysed using ideal-type analysis, identifying typologies based on similarities and differences across accounts.

Four distinct typologies emerged from the analysis: (i) Inadvertent Drink Drivers, who unintentionally exceeded the general alcohol limit due to misunderstandings about alcohol metabolism and reliance on outdated consumption guidelines; (ii) Post-Apprehension Separators, who continued using substances but implemented deliberate strategies to separate substance use from driving; (iii) Drivers Engaged in Recovery, who had ceased substance use at the time of the interview; and (iv) High-Risk Offenders, who demonstrated a high likelihood of reoffending, often influenced by permissive social environments and low responsiveness to legal sanctions.

Some women's profiles aligned with previous research where substance-impaired driving was shaped by gendered stressors, whereas others reflected characteristics more consistent with traditional male-typed profiles. Distinct intervention needs were identified across typologies, including substance use and mental health treatment, education initiatives, self-regulated separation strategies and legislative sanctions. Recognising how individual behaviour is shaped by social and structural factors is essential for designing equitable, gender-responsive interventions and supports that enhance women's capacity to avoid reoffending.