Field Investigation of College Student Alcohol Intoxication and Return Transportation from At-Risk Drinking Locations

Each year hundreds of youths’ lives are lost as a result of alcohol-impaired driving. College students leaving at-risk drinking environments are at particular risk for harm. Yet, little field research has been performed to examine college student transportation choices paired with breath alcohol testing of intoxication. This study assessed the transportation decisions of 7,500 individuals as they left drinking establishments near a large, public university in the southeastern United States. Across 3 years and 72 nights, researchers outside local drinking establishments recruited passersby who agreed to provide their planned transportation method for returning home and their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) from a police-quality breathalyzer. The results indicated that the majority of students were reaching high levels of intoxication. Indeed, the average BAC of drinking participants was .0979 g/dL. More than 50% of the participants reported that they were planning to walk home. Approximately one-quarter of the participants planned to use a designated driver. Fewer than 5% of the participants were unsure about how they were going to get home. Significant differences in BAC were observed as a function of the anticipated method for returning home. Contrary to several previous studies, individuals with designated drivers did not have higher BACs than most other individuals. The BACs of self-reported drivers were of particular concern. Although 36.7% of drivers were completely sober, the average BAC of drinking drivers was .061 g/dL. Furthermore, 39.8% of drivers with BACs over .08 g/dL believed that they were under the legal limit to drive. The results suggest that intervention efforts should focus on promoting safe and completely sober designated drivers.