ENFORCEMENT OF DRINK DRIVING LEGISLATION: PERCEPTIONS OF AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS RANDOM BREATH TESTING

Results pertaining to questions on enforcement aspects of drink driving and random breath testing were selected from a survey on this topic, conducted in March 1987 by the traffic authority of New South Wales. Respondents in the survey were motorists who consume alcoholic drinks. The selected questions dealt with perceptions of random breath testing and attitudes towards its operation. Differences in the results are reported for the geographic areas included in the survey and for subgroups of respondents defined by a cluster analysis of attitudes to 27 statements in the questionnaire. The results are discussed in the context of objective measures of alcohol involvement in crashes and in terms of the awareness of random breath testing and perception of the risk of being detected for drink driving. Comparisons between the experience with random breath testing in other countries and the success in NSW are also considered. Recommendations are put forward about strategies for controlling drink driving. (Authority/TRRL)