Transcript Who are the real “first offenders”? Hollie Wilson, PhD Scholar International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety Oslo, Norway 22nd-26th August 2010 CRICOS.

Who are the real “first offenders”?
Hollie Wilson, PhD Scholar
International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety
Oslo, Norway 22nd-26th August 2010
CRICOS No. 00213J
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
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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 in Australia
• 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
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
No
Yes
Demographic characteristics and self reported past drink driving in the 6
months prior to offence
No
Gender
Male
Female
Age groups*
17-25
26-39
40+
Level of education
Year 10
Year 12
Cert/Diploma
Bachelor/Postgraduate
Marital Status
Single
Married/de facto
Other (div, sep, wid)
Employed
No
Yes
*p <.05
Yes
28 (70.0%)
12 (30.0%)
120 (74.5%)
41 (25.5%)
17 (42.5%)
13 (32.5%)
10 (25.0%)
81 (50.3%)
64 (39.8%)
16 (9.9%)
8 (20.0%)
17 (42.5%)
5 (12.5%)
10 (25.0%)
33 (20.5%)
61 (37.9%)
43 (26.7%)
24 (14.9%)
25 (62.5%)
10 (25.0%)
5 (12.5%)
118 (73.3%)
33 (20.5%)
10 (6.2%)
7 (17.5%)
33 (82.5%)
41 (25.5%)
120 (74.5%)
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
%
90
80
70
60
50
Risky
Not risky
40
30
20
10
0
No
Yes
Self reported drink driving (6 months)
Percentage of self reported drink driving according to age
groups
%
60
50
40
17-25
26-39
40+
30
20
10
0
No
Yes
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
Questions?
[email protected]
Mark your Diaries!
International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety
Conference (T2013)
August 2013, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre