A ‘Hands on’ Public Service Program to Help People Stay Sober and Safer on the Roadway

Jessica Andrews, Zanab Shareef, Mohammed Mohammed, Edison Nwobi, Tariq Masri-zada, Tyiesha Head, Tylor Zohr, Doreen Head and Randall Commissaris
Additional contact information
Jessica Andrews: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Zanab Shareef: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Mohammed Mohammed: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Edison Nwobi: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Tariq Masri-zada: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Tyiesha Head: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Tylor Zohr: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Doreen Head: Department of Clinical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Randall Commissaris: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-16

Abstract: Despite the existence of many different “Don’t drink and drive” programs and campaigns over the past 30 years, alcohol intoxication has continued to account for approximately one quarter to one third of all traffic crashes and crash-related deaths in the United States. The present study describes a new ‘hands on’ evidence-based approach involving real alcohol-intoxicated subjects using a virtual reality (VR) driving ‘game’ to educate the public more effectively about the dangers of drunk driving. A single demonstration subject ‘drove’ a VR-based portable driving simulator on multiple occasions before (Pre) and at 30 min intervals for up to six hours after either vehicle (no alcohol), two, four or six ‘drinks’ (3, 6, or 9 ounces of 80 proof vodka). The defensive driving task was a choice reaction crash avoidance steering maneuver in which the driver’s task was to determine which way to turn to avoid a crash and then aggressively steer away to avoid a crash. The primary dependent variable was the latency to initiate an avoidance steering response. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) determinations (estimations) were conducted immediately prior to driving tests using BAC Track portable breathalyzers. Control drives (Pre-Treatment and Vehicle treatment) were characterized by an approximately 300–320 ms reaction time to initiate a crash avoidance. Alcohol increased crash-avoidance reaction time. Peak BAC values were 35, 78 and 120 mg/dL for two, four and six drinks, respectively; the decline in BAC was comparable and linear for all three treatments. There was a strong correlation (r = 0.85) between pre-drive BAC level and reaction time across all of the alcohol-related drives. There was a significant increase in crash avoidance reaction time when the BAC was 50–79 mg/dL, which is below the legally defined BAC limit (80 mg/dL) currently used in most states in the US. These results demonstrate that (1) this VR-based driving simulator task could be a useful ‘hands on’ tool for providing public service demonstrations regarding the hazards of drinking and driving and (2) a BAC concentration of 50 mg/dL represents a reasonable evidence-based cut-off for alcohol-impaired driving.

Keywords: alcohol; driving; driving simulator; drunk driving; impaired driving; road safety; drunk driving prevention; alcohol legal limit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/10979/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/19/10979/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10979-:d:649277

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().