V.  RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Connecticut Telephone Survey

D. Self-Reported Changes in Drinking and Driving

The proportion of telephone survey respondents indicating that they were drinking and driving more often compared to last year increased significantly after the July 4th holiday period (χ²(1)=8.86, p<.01), and then decreased significantly between the administration of the post-July 4th survey and the pre-winter 2003 holiday period survey (χ²(1)=8.94, p<.01).  The results are shown in Table 17.  There was no statistically significant change in the proportion of respondents indicating that they were drinking more often compared to last year between administrations of the winter holiday survey. 

The number of men 21 to 34 years old who responded to the question ranged from 10 to 20 for each administration for a total of 60 men 21 to 34 years old responding for all four surveys.  There were too few responses to the question across all four administrations to provide any meaningful results regarding changes in self-reported drinking and driving compared to the previous year. 

Table 17.  Connecticut Telephone Survey Q10: Self-Reported Drinking and
Driving Compared to Last Year

There was a statistically significant increase of 9.8 percent after the July 4th holiday period in the proportion of telephone respondents reporting that they knew other people who were drinking and driving more often compared to the other two responses combined (χ ²(1)=17.39, p<.001).  There was a significant decrease between the post-July 4th survey and the pre-winter 2003 holiday period survey corresponding with the change from summer to fall
(χ ²(1)=13.30, p<.001).  There was no significant change after the winter holiday enforcement period compared to the pre-winter enforcement period.  The increase was consistent with the increase in drinking and driving in the summer months compared to winter months (See Section G of this report for the proportion of positive BACs measured during roadside surveys across seasons).  The results are reported in Table 18.

Table 18.  Connecticut Telephone Survey Q11: Reported Knowing Other People Drinking and Driving Compared to Last Year

As shown in Table 19, there was also an increase after the July 4th holiday period in the number of men 21 to 34 years old who reported knowing others who were drinking and driving more often compared to the other two responses combined (χ²(1)=4.25, p<.04).  There was a corresponding decrease in the proportion indicating they knew others drinking and driving more often between the post-July 4th holiday period survey and the pre-winter holiday survey (χ²(1)=3.389, p=.066), but the decrease was not significant. 

Table 19.  Connecticut Telephone Survey of Men 21 to 34 for Q11: Reported Knowing Other People Drinking and Driving Compared to Last Year

Overall, there was no statistically significant change in the number of respondents, including the 21- to 34-year-old men group, reporting that they or others they knew were drinking and driving more often from the first survey to the final, post-winter holiday survey.  In fact, the proportion of respondents reporting knowing others who were driving after drinking after each holiday period increased by 19.5 percentage points after the July 4th holiday crackdown and 1.2 percentage points after the winter holiday crackdown.  These changes were consistent with the general survey results for the question, but the increase after the July 4th holiday enforcement period was larger for men 21 to 34 years old.

There was not a statistically significant change in the proportion of respondents reporting that they had driven within two hours of drinking alcoholic beverages in the past 30 days after either holiday enforcement period when compared to the responses before the holiday enforcement periods.  There was a 1.2-percent decrease after the July 4th holiday enforcement period (χ²(1)=.437, p=.509) and a 3-percent decrease after the winter holiday enforcement period
(χ²(1)=2.649, p=.104).  Neither decrease was statistically significant.  The results are presented in Table 20.

Table 20. Connecticut Telephone Survey Q5: Reported Having Driven in the Past 30 Days
Within Two Hours of Drinking an Alcoholic Beverage

Men 21 to 34 years old reported driving within two hours of drinking 4.5 percent more often after the July 4th holiday crackdown (χ²(1)=.385, p=.535), but reported doing so 5.9 percent less often after the winter holiday enforcement period (χ²(1)=.698, p=.403).  Neither change was statistically significant.  The results are reported in Table 21.

Table 21. Connecticut Telephone Survey Responses of Men 21 to 34 for Q5: Reported Having Driven in the Past 30 Days Within Two Hours of Drinking an Alcoholic Beverage