CRICOS No J Who are the real “first offenders”? Hollie Wilson, PhD Scholar International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety Oslo, Norway 22 nd -26 th 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 J

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 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 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

Demographic characteristics and self reported past drink driving in the 6 months prior to offence NoYes Gender Male Female 28 (70.0%) 12 (30.0%) 120 (74.5%) 41 (25.5%) Age groups* (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 NoYes 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 (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

Percentage of self reported drink driving according to age groups

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?