Beverage sales and drinking and driving: the role of on-premise drinking places.

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: The relationships between on-premise drinking places, beverage specific alcohol sales and drinking and driving were examined in a time series cross-sectional study of place-of-last-drink data from Perth, Western Australia. Method: At arrest, 2,411 drinking drivers reported their last location of consumption. Tabulated by 57 premises over 4 years, the rates at which individual premises were referenced as the place-of-last-drink were taken to reflect the relative distributions of numbers of drinking drivers coming from different premise types (hotels, taverns and nightclubs). The data were then statistically related to measures of premise types and characteristics and beverage specific alcohol sales. Results: Significant cross-sectional relationships were obtained between measures of premise types, alcohol sales and drinking and driving. Greatest numbers of drinking drivers came from taverns and from places selling greater amounts of beer and spirits. Significant longitudinal effects were obtained for sales of beer, proportions of high alcohol beer sold and sales of spirits. Conclusions: As a whole, the results suggest that, at least for Western Australia, outlets selling greater amounts of beer and spirits, and greater amounts of high alcohol beer, will produce larger numbers of drinking drivers. (J Stud. Alcohol 60: 47-53, 1999)

Investigating the impact of extended bar closing times on police stops for DUI

“…Additionally, in their extensive research on drinking patterns and drunk driving, Gruenewald and colleagues (Gruenewald et al, 2002;Gruenewald, Millar, et al, 1996;Gruenewald, Mitchell, et al, 1996;Gruenewald et al, 1999;Treno et al, 2000) have found that frequency, amount, and location of drinking activities all interact to produce problematic outcomes. The data available in this study, which were derived from official police reports, did not allow a thorough examination of these routine drinking activities and how they were related to drunk driving over the period of time considered.…”

“…For example, Gruenewald, Johnson, and Treno (2002) suggested that increased alcohol outlet density was related to higher rates of driving under the influence, potentially as a result of increased opportunities for consumption or changing patterns of use at these locations. In particular, Gruenewald, Stockwell, Beel, and Dyskin (1999) found rates of drunk driving to be positively related to alcohol sales from taverns/bars. Similarly, Gruenewald, Mitchell, et al (1996) found that greater levels of alcohol availability at restaurants were related to higher rates of alcohol-related accidents.…”

Spatial analysis of alcohol-related motor vehicle crash injuries in southeastern Michigan

“…Restaurant density, and not bar density, has been shown to be associated with single-vehicle nighttime crashes (Gruenewald et al, 1996), driving after drinking (Gruenewald et al, 2002), and police reports of alcohol-related MVCs (Scribner et al, 1994). One study in Australia found an association between on-premise alcohol outlets and drinking and driving, but no association with MVCs (Gruenewald et al, 1999). Studies in the southern US found no association between alcohol outlets and alcohol-related MVCs (Stevenson et al, 1998) or MVC fatalities of 15-24-years-old young males (Kelleher et al, 1996).…”

The public health and safety benefits of the Northern Territory's Living with Alcohol programme

“…This marketing would have had an impact in the NT and may well have complemented the LWA initiatives (e.g. [31]). In summary, there is evidence of substantial health benefits associated with the period following the introduction of LWA which were especially evident in relation to acute morbidity and mortality.…”