An Overlooked Demographic?

When discussing driver safety, much attention is paid to newly licensed teenage drivers, and with good reason. Statistics gathered by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that teen drivers are nearly three times as likely to be involved in an accident as drivers with just a few years more driving experience. But newly licensed teen drivers are not the only group that should be focused on. Equally as important is addressing drunk and impaired driving, especially drunk driving by college-aged drivers. As someone who is about to spend the next several years driving back and forth to college, I am keenly aware of the dangers posed to me, my family, and friends from this scourge. Thankfully, I believe there are ways in which this problem can be addressed that can be explored further.

Education is the key to reducing the number of drunk driving-related deaths. Educated drivers are less likely put themselves in a situation where they would consider driving drunk in the first place. Fortunately, the federal government and all 50 states budget for alcohol awareness and education. However, the rate of traffic fatalities caused by drunk driving has been increasing again following decades of steady decreases. In fact, in 2020 the percentage of drunk driving fatalities actually went up by 14% over the year before! So, why does the problem persist? Over the same time period, drunk driving laws have been getting stricter and stricter, with thresholds for violation growing lower and penalties growing ever harsher. It appears that the threat of negative consequences is not working to deter drivers from getting behind the wheel when they shouldn’t.

It may be that the education efforts are overlooking an important demographic. The primary target audience for many educational programs are high school-aged new drivers, followed closely by adults who are attending court-mandated programs. A far smaller number of programs are aimed at college-aged drivers, even though studies show that college-aged drivers make up a disproportionate amount of drunk driving fatalities – 8% of the driving population vs. 19% of alcohol-related crashes. This is unsurprising considering that drinking at college has become a ritual that students often see as an integral part of their higher education experience. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 27.4% – more than 1 in 4 – of college students binge-drink. There is underage drinking in high school too, to be sure. But college is the first time in many young people’s lives when they are completely free from adult oversight and can really go all-in with bad decision making.

Alcohol awareness makes up a large part of high-school driver’s education classes. But there is a huge social and developmental gulf between the high-school years and the college experience. I propose that alcohol awareness education be revamped in two significant ways: 1) Increase education efforts at the college level; and 2) Supplement the current enforcement-based approach with incentives for correct behavior (a “carrot and stick” approach).

To help their students learn how to make responsible decisions, I propose that colleges require alcohol education as part of the first-year curriculum. Many schools require first-year students to take a slate of introductory courses, such as “freshman seminar” or similar. Alcohol awareness should be part of this curriculum. This is important because by the time young drivers reach college, they typically have been driving for a year or two, many with unblemished records, and feel overly confident about their driving skills. It is at this level where young drivers need the crucial understanding of how drinking and driving intersects to affect their abilities at a real, personal level.

These programs should employ both classroom instruction and hands-on instruction to keep students engaged and interested, because truthfully, everyone’s mind wanders occasionally during a lecture, no matter how important the subject. Available hands-on educational materials include vision-impairment goggles and pedal karts to help students understand personally how alcohol can affect their abilities. Other hands-on education tools include bartending games and quiz-style tabletop games to keep students engaged and interested in the lesson.

Another approach – which I propose in addition to the current enforcement efforts, not in place of them – would be to reward drivers who make the responsible choice. For example, lawmakers could earmark funding for free or subsidized taxi and rideshare services. This could also include a return trip the following day for the driver to retrieve their car. A common statement seen in drunk driving education courses is “The cost of a cab ride is less than risking your life,” so some people who might balk at using a rideshare might reconsider if it was cheap or free. By some estimates, ridesharing has decreased alcohol-related US traffic fatalities by 6.1%, making this option particularly attractive. Another concept worth exploring further would be a sweepstakes or drawing rewarding designated drivers for making the responsible choice, similar to the speed-camera lottery trialed in Sweden several years ago, where drivers who always obeyed the speed limit were eligible to win cash prizes. People could also be encouraged to volunteer as designated drivers with offers of free or discounted meals as long as they do not order alcohol.

These proposals may sound far-fetched or ambitious, but big problems require big thinking. Drunk driving is no joke – on average, another person will have died before the hour is out. Statistically, everyone will have an encounter with a drunk driver at least once in their life, even if they don’t realize it. Fortunately for me and my family, I have never been involved in an accident, whether involving a drunk driver or some other type of irresponsible behavior. But the numbers suggest it may only be a matter of time before my luck runs out and I could become one of the grim tales.

It may seem like asking for a cultural shift in the approach to drunk driving is asking a lot. But ultimately these changes will come about at the personal level. When everyone takes it upon themselves to be better, safer, drivers, change will happen. We can help them get there by changing our approach to education and enforcement. If people are more aware of the consequences of bad decisions, they will understand how they can haunt you for the rest of your life, however long or short it may be.