DRUNK DRIVING REPRESENTS A SERIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH AND TRAFFIC SAFETY PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THIS RESEARCH PLAN ADDRESSES ONE SPECIFIC COUNTERMEASURE: DRINKING GUIDES TO BE USED BY MOTORISTS TO DETERMINE THEIR BAC (BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION).

DRUNK DRIVING REPRESENTS A SERIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH AND TRAFFIC SAFETY PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THIS RESEARCH PLAN ADDRESSES ONE SPECIFIC COUNTERMEASURE: DRINKING GUIDES TO BE USED BY MOTORISTS TO DETERMINE THEIR BAC (BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION). IT IS PRESUMED THAT INFORMED MOTORISTS WILL AVOID DRIVING WHILE DRUNK (E.G., BAC 0.10) GIVEN APPROPRIATE DRINKING GUIDELINES, AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS PHASE I APPROACH IS TO CONSOLIDATE AVAILABLE RESEARCH RESULTS AND SPECIFY THOSE VARIABLES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO ACCURATELY PREDICT BAC GIVEN ALCOHOL DOSAGE LEVELS, FOOD INTAKE, AND OTHER SUBJECT RELATED VARIABLES. PERTINENT RESEARCH WILL BE INCORPORATED THROUGH LITERATURE REVIEW, ANALYSIS OF AVAILABLE DATABASES, AND DISCUSSION WITH OTHER KNOWLEDGEABLE RESEARCHERS. PRELIMINARY BAC PREDICTIVE EQUATIONS WILL BE DEVELOPED THAT CAN BE TESTED IN A PHASE II EXPERIMENT TO BE DESIGNED AS PART OF THIS PHASE I EFFORT. A NOVEL FEATURE OF THE PHASE II EXPERIMENTAL PLAN IS TO INCLUDE PERFORMANCE TESTS WHICH CAN BE USED TO DETERMINE THE IMPORTANCE OF BAC PREDICTION ERRORS. IF LOW BACS ARE PREDICTED FOR INDIVIDUALS WHOSE PERFORMANCE IS NOT SERIOUSLY IMPAIRED BY ALCOHOL, THEN THE ERRORS MAY BE BENIGN. IF LOW BACS ARE PREDICTED FOR SERIOUSLY IMPAIRED PERFORMERS, HOWEVER, THEN THESE ERRORS MUST BE CONSIDERED QUITE SIGNIFICANT, AND MAY REQUIRE MORE CONSERVATIVE GUIDELINES. THESE EFFORTS COULD RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE USEFUL DRINKING GUIDELINES WITH A RANGE OF FUTURE FORMATS FROM CHARTS AND MONOGRAMS TO ELECTRONIC ESTIMATORS AND COMPUTER PROGRAMS.