Deterrence and prevention of alcohol-impaired driving in Australia, the United States and Norway.

Abstract

A sample of 4,316 drivers from Norway, the United States, and Australia responded to national surveys probing individual, social, and legal factors that contribute to control of alcohol-impaired driving. These factors are considered within the framework of general deterrence (control in response to a fear of punishment) and general prevention (control through internalization of moral inhibitions and socialization of preventive habits). Striking differences in social norms, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding drinking and driving in the three countries suggest that Norway has progressed farthest toward general prevention, whereas Australia relies more on general deterrence. Both general deterrence and general prevention are relatively weak in the United States.