CRICOS No. 00213J

Who are the real “first offenders”?

Hollie Wilson, PhD ScholarInternational Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety

Oslo, Norway 22nd-26th August 2010

Acknowledgements

• Supervisory team– Em Prof. Mary Sheehan– Dr. Gavan Palk

• Funding– Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB)– Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety –

Queensland (CARRS-Q)

Overview of presentation

• Drink driving: Australian & Queensland contexts• Offender characteristics • First offender characteristics• Research aims• Methodology• Sample characteristics• Results• Limitations• Policy & countermeasure implications

Drink Driving: Australian Context

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2008) found: • One in eight people (12.1%) admit to driving a motor

vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, with males (16.2%) more than twice as likely as females (8.0%) to admit to engaging in drink driving

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009):• In 2007/2008, there were 63,731 drink driving cases

heard by a magistrate.

CRICOS No. 00213J

Drink Driving: Queensland Context

• A blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above 0.05% was noted in 33% of all driver and rider fatalities tested in Queensland in 2003.

So, what are the characteristics of drink driving offenders?

All Offender Characteristics

Leal et al., (2006) found that offenders were:

• Male, under 35• Holder of provisional or open licence (but,

novice drivers who have a no alcohol restriction are over-represented)

• Self report drink driving at least once in the last 6 months

• Average BAC of 0.1

But what are the characteristics of ‘first offenders’?

First offender characteristics

•Not a lot is known about this group inAustralia•Largest group of drink driving offenders (approx. 75%) •15% go on to become repeat offenders in a 3

year period•May be heterogeneous group

How many of these offenders are simply ‘first time caught?’

Research aims

• Overall objective:- Determine the characteristics of first time drink driving offenders in Queensland.

• Study aims:- Determine by self report whether ‘first offenders’ are

simply ‘first time caught’. Identify key variables to determine what factors are

significantly associated with past drink driving in the first offender group.

Identify, if any, significant predictors of past drink driving.

Study methodology• Offenders interviewed in

court directly following index offence –

• Brisbane (Metropolitan - 168 offenders)

• Maroochydore (Regional - 33 offenders)

• Interview schedule – • Demographic

characteristics• Offence information• Drink driving history• Alcohol use (AUDIT)

Sample characteristics• Offenders in the sample:

– Male (74%)– Average age of 29 (SD=9.93) – Single (71%)– Education (80% at least secondary school)– Employed (76%)– Experienced drivers (50% over 10 years)– Apprehended by random breath testing (RBT) (70%)– Risky drinkers (80%)

And as predicted... ‘first time caught’

Self reported drink driving in the six months prior to offence

No Yes0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Demographic characteristics and self reported past drink driving in the 6 months prior to offence

No Yes

Gender Male Female

28 (70.0%)12 (30.0%)

120 (74.5%)41 (25.5%)

Age groups* 17-25 26-39 40+

17 (42.5%)13 (32.5%)10 (25.0%)

81 (50.3%)64 (39.8%)16 (9.9%)

Level of education Year 10 Year 12 Cert/Diploma Bachelor/Postgraduate

8 (20.0%)17 (42.5%)5 (12.5%)

10 (25.0%)

33 (20.5%)61 (37.9%)43 (26.7%)24 (14.9%)

Marital Status Single Married/de facto Other (div, sep, wid)

25 (62.5%)10 (25.0%)5 (12.5%)

118 (73.3%)33 (20.5%)10 (6.2%)

Employed No Yes

7 (17.5%)33 (82.5%)

41 (25.5%)120 (74.5%)

*p <.05

Driving history, BAC, apprehension and alcohol use and self reported drink driving in the 6 months prior to the offence

No Yes

Driving history Up to 5 years 5-10 years 10+ years

7 (17.5%)8 (20.0%)

25 (62.5%)

40 (24.8%)46 (28.6%)75 (46.6%)

BAC when apprehended 0.01-0.05 0.051-0.10 0.101-0.15 0.151 +

3 (7.5%)25 (62.5%)10 (25.0%)

2 (5.0%)

7 (4.3%)82 (50.9%)43 (26.7%)29 (18.0%)

Method of apprehension RBT Method of driving

30 (75.0%)10 (25.0%)

111 (68.9%)50 (31.1%)

Alcohol use* Non-risky Risky

18 (45.0%)22 (55.0%)

23 (14.3%)138 (85.7%)

*p <.001

Percentage of past reported drink driving according to risky drinking

No Yes0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

RiskyNot risky

Self reported drink driving (6 months)

%

Percentage of self reported drink driving according to age groups

No Yes0

10

20

30

40

50

60

17-2526-3940+

Self reported drink driving (6 months)

%

Logistic Regression

• Risky drinkers were 4.6 times more likely to report drink driving in the 6 months prior to the offence than non risky drinkers*.

• Other offender characteristics were not significant.

*(CI 95%)

Summary of findings

• Risky drinking and age were significantly associated with past reported drink driving in bivariate analyses.

• Risky drinkers were almost 5 times as likely to engage in drink driving in the six months prior to the offence.

Limitations

• Preliminary results of a very small part of initial research – more research to follow!

• Self report measures• Sample characteristics

– Educated

• Number of offenders• Time frame

– 5 year recidivist classification

Research Directions

• Follow-up offenders (phone/web based)• Queensland Transport crash/offence data

for study participants• Design an intervention program (computer

based) specifically for first offenders

Policy & Countermeasure Implications

• Education and rehabilitation programs relating to drink driving– Targeting risky drinkers– Brief intervention

• Legislative reform which allows for all offenders to take part in targeted rehabilitation

Mark your Diaries!

International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety Conference (T2013)

August 2013, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre

Questions?hollie.wilson@qut.edu.au