Riding in a car with an alcohol impaired driver
Definition
Proportion of secondary students aged 12 to 18 who report that they rode in a car with an alcohol-impaired driver (defined as someone who had “drunk more than two glasses of alcohol in the two hours before driving”) in the previous four weeks, as measured by the Youth'07 Study.
Relevance
Drunk driving is a significant cause of car accidents, injury and death.(1) Young people can act to keep themselves safe and avoid placing themselves in potentially dangerous situations by planning transport arrangements in advance, and refusing to be a passenger in a car with someone they suspect may be alcohol-impaired.
Current level
The Youth’07 Survey found that 23.2 percent of secondary school students had travelled in a car driven by an alcohol-impaired driver in the previous four weeks.
8.1 percent had driven a car after drinking more than two glasses of alcohol in the two hours before driving in the last month.
Frequency of riding in a car driven by someone who was alcohol impaired in the previous four weeks, by secondary students reporting this behaviour at least once, 2001
Source: Adolescent Health Research Group (2004) Alcohol and New Zealand Youth: A snapshot of young people’s experiences with alcohol, Auckland, University of Auckland
Notes
1. Young Drivers, Crash Statistics for the year ended 31 Dec 2006
