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Binge drinkers have a disconnect between assessing their driving abilities and reality
May 12, 2008While many people believe that alcohol-impaired (AI) drivers are usually alcoholics, in fact, 80 percent of AI incidents are caused by binge drinkers. A recent study conducted among college students has found that binge drinkers, even when legally intoxicated, nonetheless believe they having adequate driving abilities.
Results will be published in the July issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at OnlineEarly.
"Binge drinkers are individuals who, when they drink, typically drink to get drunk," explained Cecile A. Marczinski, assistant professor in the department of psychology at Northern Kentucky University and first author of the study. "Binge drinkers are often young individuals, like college students, who are drinking irresponsibly and most of them are not alcohol dependent."
College students, as a population, are most likely to binge drink, Marczinski added. "Binge drinking is widespread on college campuses, with almost half of students reporting binge drinking," she said. "They are also particularly prone to AI driving. Thus, we needed to understand why a population that knows better than to engage in impaired driving still does.
Participants in this study were 20 male and 20 female social-drinking college students (24 binge drinkers, 16 non-binge drinkers) between 21 and 29 years of age. All participants attended two sessions: one during which they received a moderate dose of alcohol (0.65 g/kg), and one during which they received a placebo. Following each session/dose, researchers measured the students' performance during a simulated driving task, and also measured their subjective responses, including ratings of sedation, stimulation and driving abilities.
"After being given an intoxicating dose of alcohol, all of these individuals - both binge and non-binge drinkers - were very poor drivers when tested on a driving simulator," said Marczinski. "However, when all of the participants are asked to rate their driving ability, the binge drinkers reported that they had a greater ability to drive compared to the non-binge drinkers."
The authors hypothesize that binge drinkers lack an "internal sedation cue" that allows an accurate assessment of their driving abilities after drinking.
"Furthermore," said Marczinski, "the dose of alcohol we gave resulted in a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08g percent, which is the legal limit for driving. If these binge drinkers had been driving and were stopped by police, they would have been prosecuted for impaired driving."
Marczinski said that these findings might help policy and law makers understand why the standard message of "don't drive when your BAC reaches .08 or more" may be not be as straight forward to follow as one might think.
"A BAC of .08 may feel differently depending on how much you typically drink," she said. "If you often drink to get drunk, as many young people do, you will be very bad at determining whether or not you should drive. Thus, prevention programs where college students are stopped leaving bars and given a breathalyzer reading may help many individuals learn what .08 feels like. In addition, we might also entertain a lower BAC limit for driving. Many European countries have had great success in decreasing impaired driving rates and related accidents by lowering their BAC limit to .05."
There is some good news, however. "While a small portion of young binge drinkers may develop serious problems with alcohol, most of them will mature out of this behavior," she said.
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
College students, as a population, are most likely to binge drink, Marczinski added. "Binge drinking is widespread on college campuses, with almost half of students reporting binge drinking," she said. "They are also particularly prone to AI driving. Thus, we needed to understand why a population that knows better than to engage in impaired driving still does.
Participants in this study were 20 male and 20 female social-drinking college students (24 binge drinkers, 16 non-binge drinkers) between 21 and 29 years of age. All participants attended two sessions: one during which they received a moderate dose of alcohol (0.65 g/kg), and one during which they received a placebo. Following each session/dose, researchers measured the students' performance during a simulated driving task, and also measured their subjective responses, including ratings of sedation, stimulation and driving abilities.
"After being given an intoxicating dose of alcohol, all of these individuals - both binge and non-binge drinkers - were very poor drivers when tested on a driving simulator," said Marczinski. "However, when all of the participants are asked to rate their driving ability, the binge drinkers reported that they had a greater ability to drive compared to the non-binge drinkers."
The authors hypothesize that binge drinkers lack an "internal sedation cue" that allows an accurate assessment of their driving abilities after drinking.
"Furthermore," said Marczinski, "the dose of alcohol we gave resulted in a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08g percent, which is the legal limit for driving. If these binge drinkers had been driving and were stopped by police, they would have been prosecuted for impaired driving."
Marczinski said that these findings might help policy and law makers understand why the standard message of "don't drive when your BAC reaches .08 or more" may be not be as straight forward to follow as one might think.
"A BAC of .08 may feel differently depending on how much you typically drink," she said. "If you often drink to get drunk, as many young people do, you will be very bad at determining whether or not you should drive. Thus, prevention programs where college students are stopped leaving bars and given a breathalyzer reading may help many individuals learn what .08 feels like. In addition, we might also entertain a lower BAC limit for driving. Many European countries have had great success in decreasing impaired driving rates and related accidents by lowering their BAC limit to .05."
There is some good news, however. "While a small portion of young binge drinkers may develop serious problems with alcohol, most of them will mature out of this behavior," she said.
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Binge Drinking Current Events and Binge Drinking News RSSAthletes on performance enhancers more likely to abuse alcohol, other drugs
College athletes who use performance-enhancing substances may be at heightened risk of misusing alcohol and using recreational drugs as well, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Tanked-up teens: Cheap alcohol strongly linked to harmful underage drinking in the UK
Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health studied the drinking habits of 9833 15-16 year olds in the North West of England, finding that excessively low cost alcohol products and illicit purchase are strongly related to harmful underage drinking.
UK incidence of children living with substance-misusing parents considerably underestimated
Current figures underestimate the number of children who may be at risk of harm from parental substance use. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health have generated new estimates using five national surveys which include measures of binge, hazardous and dependent drinking, illicit drug use and mental health.
Binge drinkers let down guard against infection
As if a bad hangover wasn't enough of a deterrent, new research has shown how binge drinking weakens the body's ability to fight off infection for at least 24 hours afterwards.
Heavy-drinking colleges showing no improvements
U.S. colleges with the biggest student drinking problems have so far failed to turn the tide, according to a new study.
Rate of teen binge drinking cut more than 1/3 by prevention system
Rates of binge drinking were 37 percent lower among eighth-grade students in communities in seven states that used a prevention system designed to reduce drug use and delinquent behavior compared to teenagers in communities that did not use the system.
A double-threat to teen health
As teens head back to school, health teachers may want to revise their lesson plans. Temple researchers have found that kids who engage in heavy drinking will more than likely also engage in heavy smoking, and they say educators can help combat the trend by addressing both topics as one health risk.
Higher drinking age linked to less binge drinking...except in college students
New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found substantial reductions in binge drinking since the national drinking age was set at 21 two decades ago, with one exception: college students.
College drinking problems, deaths on the rise
Alcohol-related deaths, heavy drinking episodes and drunk driving have all been on the rise on college campuses over the past decade, a new government study shows.
Colleges, communities combat off-campus student drinking
Programs that bring colleges and their surrounding neighborhoods together may help reduce off-campus drinking problems, a new study suggests.
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