The irresponsible use of alcohol and driving is considered to be one of the most devastating in terms of loss of life, and a number of people have been killed or injured in every years. Also, the number of habitual drunken drivers who have been prosecuted more than three times have increased. Drunken driving has negative impact on not only individuals but also society. Traditionally, there have been many policies to reduce drunken driving. Legal punishment has been the main deterrence method for drunken driving, and researches have been conducted to find out appropriate alternatives in order to deter drunken driving through the Deterrence theory. However, legal intervention has not been successful in substantially reducing drunken driving. Thus, it is necessary to develop more preventive intervention of the drunken diving beyond the legal punishment.
The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of the deterrence factors on drunken driving and to suggest preventive policies for reducing drunken driving. The deterrence factors are divided into formal deterrence factors and informal deterrence factors. In details, formal deterrence factors include punishment severity and certainty, and informal deterrence factors consists of shame, embarrassment, and punishment avoidance. In terms of dependant variable, a willingness of drunken driving was used. The factors related to deter drunken driving are examined based on the Deterrence Theory and the Rational Choice Theory. Also, literature review was conducted.
It is conducted to find out that those factors could have impact on drunken driving, SPSS 19.0 was used. Descriptive analysis was conducted to figure out the demographic characteristics. It is carried out to confirm that the independent variables influence on the dependent variable with factor analysis and reliability analysis in order. T-test and ANOVA were conducted with demographic factors. Correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship among independent variables and dependent variables. Finally, hierarchical regression was conducted to analyze the influence of each factors on drunken driving.
To this end, a questionnaire survey was conducted to 570 drivers nationwide. The findings of this study are as followings:
First, considering the formal deterrence factors, it is showed that the perception of punishment severity has significant impact on the willingness of drunken driving. In other words, drivers who perceive punishment of drunken drivers severe are less likely to drive under influence. On the other hand, the perception of punishment certainty has no influence on the drunken driving.
Second, in terms of the informal deterrence factors, as the perception of shame has increased, the willingness of drunken driving had decreased. That is, when people drive under influence, they feel shame, guilty, and regret, and those factors could deter drunken driving along with legal regulations. Also, as the perception of embarrassment increases, the willingness of drunken driving decreases. If a person drive under influence, the person would be criticized with blame from the family and trouble in the company. Those factors could influence on deterring drunken driving. Finally, as the perception of punishment avoidance increases, the willingness of drunken driving increases. In other words, people who perceive that they would not be caught in a crackdown on drunken driving are more likely to drive under influence.
Given the results of this study, policy suggestions are listed below.
First, it is necessary to reinforce the restriction on drinking driving. The blood alcohol concentration should be less than 0.05% which is specified in the Traffic Law.
Second, the fine should be increased, and the duration of the punishment should be extended in terms of punishment severity.
Third, the time and the method of crackdown should be varied. Thus, drivers should recognize that they cannot avoid punishment in case of driving under influence. Besides, adoption of the Ignition Interlock Device or punishment of fellow passengers could be helpful.
Finally, drinking culture should be improved, and an effective prevention program should be developed for reducing and deterring drunken driving. Also, public and professional attention to the DUI(driving under the influence) program for the development and implementation of rehabilitation or education program is needed.