2010

Do alcohol warning labels influence men’s and women’s attempts to deter others from driving when intoxicated ?

Research on the federally mandated alcohol warning label has found mixed results, but some findings are consistent with a modest influence on precautionary behaviors to reduce drinkers' self-reported drunk driving. We hypothesized that warnings would also influence the likelihood of intervening to deter others' driving after drinking. Using data from 1,376 adult drinkers in a U.S. national survey, a conceptual model reflecting effects of exposure to the label's drunk driving message on taking actions to avert another's driving under the influence was tested in a structural equation modeling framework. For men and women, in structural models with drinking and handling of alcoholic beverages potentially affecting both message recall and intervening, the predicted relationships were found between message recall and actions to deter another's drinking driving. This finding suggests that an important preventive effect of the alcohol warning label may be to legitimate collateral attempts to avert another's drunk driving. 

Additional Info

  • Authors

    Tam T.W.
  • Issue

    Hum Factors Ergon Manuf / pages 538-546 / volume 20
  • Published Date

    2010