Drunk Driving Annotated Bibliography, Free Paper Example

Drunk driving is one of the factors leading to risky driving behaviors and traffic accidents. Many people lose their lives due to road crashes related to drunk driving while some end up with injuries. Below is an annotated bibliography of different journal articles that have studies on drunk driving.

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Cestac, Julien, Sami Kraiem, and Jean-Pascal Assailly. "Cultural values and random breath tests as moderators of the social influence on drunk driving in 15 countries." Journal of safety research 56 (2016): 89-96.

The journal article aims to explore if roadside breath tests and cultural values moderate a person's self-reported behavior and perceived drunk driving of his or her peers (p 91). The literature review has pointed out that the level of alcohol consumption is correlated to accident mortality rates and there are different rates of alcohol in drivers' blood in different countries which explains why there are disparities between countries based on alcohol-related accidents. There are also predictors of drunk driving which include infrastructures, social influence, traffic laws and enforces levels in a country (p 89).

Cestac. KKraiem and Assailly conducted a study on 12507 adult car drivers to determine the variation in alcohol consumption among countries, friends' drunk-driving behaviors been linked to self-reported drunk driving, strengths of peer influence on drunk driving, cultural values effect in drivers and the disparities of norms among countries (p 91). The study focused on respondents aged 18 to 93 years old from 15 European countries. The method of data collection was face-to-face interviews and Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk in Europe (SARTRE 4) questionnaires. Cultural value measures were taken from Portrait Values Questionnaire's archival data (p 91). Roadside breath tests recorded by European Transport Safety Council were used for the driving context indicator by dividing the number of tests with registered passenger cars in 2008. The study indicated that drunk driving rates in the Southern countries was higher than for the Northern countries (p 94). The results indicated cultural disparities in these countries as the northern countries are perceived to have a wine culture and their citizens often take alcohol on a daily basis or during meals unlike those in the southern countries. The authors found out that there was a relationship between friend's drunk driving behaviors and a driver's drinking behavior in all the countries which indicated that drivers are highly influenced by their friends to engage in drunk driving (p 94). The peer influence also involved one behaving based on his or her cultural norms rather than the law. Breath tests were negatively linked to drunk driving hence indicating that they are effective in preventing drunk driving among drivers in different countries. Based on the study, roadside breath tests, peer influence, and cultural values are the main factors influencing drunk driving behaviors in the society.

The authors have made a great contribution to drunk driving research as the article enables one to understand the factors influencing drunk driving behaviors in different countries. However, the study was limited to 15 countries in Europe and more research should be conducted in other regions globally to test if the same results are achieved in countries with different cultures. There is high credibility in the article as the authors have relied on recent peer-reviewed studies linked to drunk driving to compile the literature review and discussion sections. The intended audience of the study includes traffic officers, government, researchers focusing their studies on drunk driving and activists against drunk driving. The article is related to the other two articles chosen on drunk driving as it highlights the strong influence of peers as well culture in a person's drunk driving behavior.

Gonzalez-Iglesias, Beatriz, Jose Antonio Gomez-Fraguela, and Ma Angeles Luengo. "Sensation seeking and drunk driving: The mediational role of social norms and self-efficacy." Accident Analysis & Prevention 71 (2014): 22-28.

The journal article aims to study the role of sensation seeking in drunk driving and the effect of emotional, cognitive and social variables on youths' relationships. The literature review indicates that alcohol drinking is an essential part of many personal relationships and also a socially accepted habit. At least 50% of the road accidents caused by youths are linked to drunk driving as the inexperience among the young people with driving and drinking weakens their driving skills more compared to adults. The youth are also less alcohol-tolerant than adults hence experience stronger neuropsychological effects due to alcohol consumption (p 22). The authors have also discussed the theories of planned behavior and reasoned action in relation to drunk driving.

The research focused on identifying the importance of planned behavior theory variables such as self-efficacy, social norms, and attitudes to explain drunk driving and sensation seeking among young people. The study was performed on 274 drivers aged between 18 and 30 years old who were graduates from the University of Santiago de Compostela as well as non-university respondents. Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS), Attitudes on Drinking and Driving Scale (ADDS) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) were the tools used to assess the responses of the participants (p 23). Various variables assessed in the study include sensation seeking, positive attitudes towards drunk driving, the influence of normative beliefs on the participant's reference groups and motivation to comply with them, perceived behavioral control, drunk driving and alcohol use (p 23). The data collection method used was questionnaires while the information was processed using SPSS (p 24). The study confirmed that sensation seeking was significant to drunk driving. Sensation seeking positively influenced the youth's drunk drinking behavior. The participants had challenges using strategies to avoid driving after drinking such as leaving the car and using other means to return home or totally avoiding alcohol (p 26). There were high rates of peer influence liked to drunk driving. On the other hand, the study identified that self-efficacy and peers' norms are strong predictors of sensation seeking to lead to drunk driving. High sensation seeking scores influenced people to drive recklessly as well as drink more.

Based on the article it is evident that many youths possess risky driving behaviors due to specific beliefs, perceptions, and beliefs rather than not knowing the adverse effects of drunk driving and being inexperienced drivers. The article is relevant authorities as it can enable them to identify the intervention programs they can put in place to improve legal measures against drunk driving among the youth as well as adults as well as form road safety prevention policies. It can also be useful for driving tutors as it can help them offer planning and self-regulatory classes to young people before they become drivers. The information can also be useful to the media fraternity as it helps them identify areas they should focus on when educating the public on drunk driving especially among the young people. The article is credible as the authors have used past peer-reviewed studies to reference all literature in the article. They have also supported their study results with other studies done in the past to show the credibility of their study. The article is related to the other articles as it addresses peer influence and cultural values as risk factors for drunk driving.

Portman, M., A. Penttila, J. Haukka, S. Rajalin, C.J.P. Eriksson, T. Gunnar, H. Koskimaa, K. Kuoppasalmi. "Profile of a drunk driver and risk factors for drunk driving. Findings in roadside testing in the province of Uusimaa in Finland 1990-2008." Forensic science international 231.1-3 (2013): 20-27.

The article has a study that focuses on defining the risk factors for drunk driving as well as the profile of a drunk driver in Finland. In the introduction section, the authors point out that surveys using Random Breath Testing method (RBT) in Finland have been conducted since 1979 and the population of drunk drivers identified has been about 0.2% of all drivers since 1990s (p 20). RBT method is practiced in different countries such as Norway, Sweden, and the United States and has been effective in identifying the prevalence of drunk driving in these regions.

Portman et al.'s study examined the prevalence of drunk driving in Finland for over 18 years, 1990 to 2008 (p 21). The study focused on 542,495 drivers whose breath tests were taken annually during autumn and spring. 1241 drivers tested positive for drunk driving and 1133 among them were men. Some of the variables that were recorded alongside the alcoholism levels of the drivers were their age, gender, profession, marital status, and employment status. The devices used in the study were Alcosensor and Alcometer to gather information on the drivers' alcohol levels. Linear regression was used to model blood alcohol concentration collected from the National Institute for Health and Welfare. Logistic regression was also used as a statistical method to compare the drunk and sober drivers in the study (p 21). The results of the study indicated that the prevalence of drunk driving was almost similar across the 18 years. Over 90% of the drunk drivers were male and most of them were aged between 40 and 44 years. Also, most of the drivers were drunk on weekends more than weekdays. A high number of the drunk drivers (45%) were married while 24.2% of them were unmarried. Most respondents also stated that there was a high risk of being caught while drunk driving and were driving cars. The risk factors for drunk driving based on the study include one been male, weekends as more people drink on such days, been divorced or widowed and been older about 40 to 50 years old.

The article enables one to understand the risk factors of drunk driving and characters of a drunk driver. It has also emphasized the effectiveness of RBT as it indicates that there have been reduced rates of drunk driving in countries that have implemented roadside testing. The study is credible as it has incorporated past peer-reviewed studies to support the arguments and opinions of the authors. The target audience includes the authorities who can use it to identify reasons why people drunk to drive and come up with stringent measures that discourage them from doing it. It is also relevant to researchers conducting studies on drunk driving and educational institutions who have courses on substance use and its effects. It has used different statistical methods which improves the accuracy of quantitative data especially when one is dealing with large data. However, the information is focused on a province in Finland and there should be more similar research conducted in different countries to ascertain if the results of the study are applicable to drunk drivers across the world. The article is related to the other two articles as it addresses the risk factors of drunk drivers, the most affected age group in drunk driving and their characters.

Works Cited

Cestac, Julien, Sami Kraiem, and Jean-Pascal Assailly. "Cultural values and random breath tests as moderators of the social influence on drunk driving in 15 countries." Journal of safety research 56 (2016): 89-96.

Gonzalez-Iglesias, Beatriz, Jose Antonio Gomez-Fraguela, and Ma Angeles Luengo. "Sensation seeking and drunk driving: The mediational role of social norms and self-efficacy." Accident Analysis & Prevention 71 (2014): 22-28.

Portman, M., A. Penttila, J. Haukka, S. Rajalin, C.J.P. Eriksson, T. Gunnar, H. Koskimaa, K. Kuo...