The Prevention of Young Driver's DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and RWDI (Riding With a Driver Under Influence) in Europe: A Social-Sequential Model

Abstract

Inspired by the “critical incident technique” of McKnight et al. (1995) who analyzed 12,000 drivers' decisions leading to (or not to) DWI, and identified the influence of social, motivational, and economic factors, we have developed a social-sequential model of young drivers' DWI (driving while intoxicated) and RWDI (riding with a driver under influence) prevention. DWI or RWDI may be analyzed as a four-stage process: (1) the decision to drink and to associate leisure activities with drinking; (2) the management of alcohol consumption during the evening; (3) the decision to drive after drinking; and (4) the behavioral adaptation, once the decision to drive is taken (disinhibition of risk-taking or risk compensation). At each of these four stages, preventive action can reflect the intervention of two types of actors: (1) formal social control of behavior is influenced by professionals involved in accident prevention, and (2) informal social control of behavior is influenced by the proximal environment of the subject.

Keywords:

• Teenagers
• Young Drivers
• Drunk Driving
• Prevention
• Education