Heavy Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use and Risky Driving Behaviors (Table 11.6)

Table 11.6 presents the associations between heavy alcohol and illicit drug use and high-risk driving behaviors that might result in harm to one's self or others. Two kinds of high-risk driving behaviors are shown. The first is driving under the influence of either a drug or alcohol (or both) during the past year. The second is often driving or riding without wearing a seat belt. Only persons aged 16 or older are included in Table 11.6 because younger persons are not legally able to drive in most States.

Past year illicit drug users were nearly four times as likely as the general population aged 16 or older to report having driven under the influence, and past month heavy alcohol users were nearly five times as likely as the general population to have done so. Males who used an illicit drug in the past year were three times as likely as the general population to have driven under the influence (44% vs. 15%, respectively) while females who used an illicit drug were five times as likely (35% vs. 7%, respectively). Among past year illicit drug users aged 16 or older, nearly half of whites, those living in the North Central region, those with at least some college, and those working full-time reported driving under the influence in the past year.

Past month heavy alcohol users aged 16 or older were nearly five times as likely as the general population to report driving under the influence in the past year (51% vs. 11%, respectively). Among past month heavy alcohol users, females were more likely to report driving under the influence than males (59% vs. 48%, respectively). Among past month heavy alcohol users, those most likely to report driving under the influence were aged 18 to 20 (66%), living in small metropolitan areas (61%), and with some college (62%).

Past year illicit drug users and past month alcohol users were twice as likely as the general population to report riding without a seat belt. Among past year illicit drug users, those most likely to report riding without a seat belt were males (28%), under the age of 20 (27%), Hispanic (27%), living in the North Central region (34%), and had less than a high school education (35%).

Males aged 16 or older who used alcohol in the past month were twice as likely as the general population to have ridden without a seat belt (30% vs. 16%, respectively) while there was little difference for females (14% vs. 9%, respectively). Among past month alcohol users, those most likely to report riding without a seat belt were those under the age of 20 (approximately 42%), those living in nonmetropolitan areas (32%), those living in the North Central region (36%), and those without a high school diploma (36%).