DRINKING AND DRIVING: BEHAVIORS OF MOTORCYCLISTS STOPPED AT THE “OPERATION DRY LAW”

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe drinking-and-driving behaviors among motorcyclists stopped by the Operation Dry Law (Operação Lei Seca), an anti-drink driving campaign. A descriptive study was conducted with a non-probabilistic sample of motorcyclists stopped in the city of Rio de Janeiro in 2012, who answered a socio-demographic questionnaire about alcohol use, involvement in traffic accidents and their drink-driving behavior before and after the enactment of the Dry Law (Lei Seca).Of the 94 motorcyclists interviewed, 61 answered that they had already been involved in a traffic accident and 11 of them had consumed alcohol prior to the accident. There was a decline of the drink-driving behavior by 81% after the enactment of the Dry Law. Therefore, it is possible that the enforcement actions of Operation Dry Law may have contributed to the decline of the drink-driving behavior.

Keywords

• Automobile driving
• Motorcycles
• Traffic accidents
• Alcohol drinking
• Descriptive epidemiology