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Mark Asbridge

Publications and source records attributed to Mark Asbridge.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Adolescent passengers of drunk drivers: a multi-level exploration into the inequities of risk and safety.

AIMS: This study determined the individual-, neighbourhood- and provincial-level effects of rural residence, socio-economic status (SES), substance use and driving behaviours on adolescents' riding with a drunk driver (RDD). DESIGN: Multi-level study based on cross-sectional self-reported anonymous data from the Student Drug Use Survey in the Atlantic Provinces (SDUSAP) and Census Canada data, merged on the postal code of participating schools. The sample design of the SDUSAP was a single-stage cluster sample of randomly selected classes stratified by grade and region. SETTING: The Atlantic provinces of Canada. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 12 990 students in junior and senior high schools, with an average age of 15 years, participated in the 2002 SDUSAP. MEASUREMENTS: The outcome variable was past-year RDD. The main individual-level independent variables were SES, rural residence, substance use and driving behaviours. The school-neighbourhood independent variables were the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking, driving under the influence of alcohol, driver's licence, highest level of educational attainment and low income. FINDINGS: The prevalence of RDD was 23.3% in 2002. Among students in grades 9-12, lower family SES, rural residence, substance use and driving under the influence were found to be independent individual-level risk factors for RDD; having a driver's licence was found to be protective. At the provincial and school-neighbourhood levels, a high prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol and low educational attainment were found to be independent risk factors for RDD after taking into account individual characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that inequities exist in the options for adolescents to be ensured of passenger safety, and that interventions aimed at decreasing the extent to which adolescents engage in riding with a drunk driver should be based on conceptual approaches that recognize ecological factors as well as individual-level susceptibility.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2006

Drinking-driving fatalities and consumption of beer, wine and spirits.

Drinking-driving is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in Canada. The purpose of this paper was to examine factors that influenced drinking driver deaths in Ontario. We examined the impact of per capita consumption of total alcohol, and of beer, wine and spirits separately, on drinking-driving deaths in Ontario from 1962 to 1996, as well as the impact of the introduction of Canada's per se law and the founding of People to Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere - Mothers Against Drunk Driving (PRIDE - MADD) Canada. We utilised time-series analyses with autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modelling. As total alcohol consumption increased, drinking driving fatalities increased. The introduction of Canada's per se law, and of PRIDE-MADD Canada, acted to reduce drinking driving death rates. Among the specific beverage types, only consumption of beer had a significant impact on drinking driver deaths. Several factors were identified that acted to increase and decrease drinking driver death rates. Of particular interest was the observation of the impact of beer consumption on these death rates. In North America, beer is taxed at a lower rate than other alcoholic beverages. The role of taxation policies as determinants of drinking-driving deaths is discussed.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2006

Can we prevent road rage?

Road rage has become a serious concern in many countries, and preventive efforts are required. This article reviews what can be done to prevent road rage by exploring potential prevention avenues in five areas. First, legal changes aimed at increasing the penalties for road rage behavior could be instituted, drawing on models from aggressive-driving or impaired-driving laws. A second approach would involve the adoption of court programs for convicted road ragers. Third, car redesign offers a means of reducing crime through environmental design. Fourth, mass media education could be implemented to inform drivers of the risk from road rage and how to avoid situations that facilitate road rage. Finally, prevention efforts could be directed to long-term societal changes that emphasize structural modifications, such as reducing congestion on the roads, reduced driver stress, or promoting public transportation. The strengths and weaknesses of these strategies are discussed.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2005

Illicit drug use, alcohol use and problem drinking among infrequent and frequent road ragers.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between illicit drug and alcohol use, problem drinking, and road rage. Particular attention is devoted to the association between these behaviors and frequent involvement in road rage activities. The data are taken from the 2002 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Monitor, a representative telephone survey with a sample of 2421 adults aged 18 and older in Ontario. A cluster analysis was performed and analysis of variance procedures were used to test for group differences. The cluster analysis revealed five distinct groups involved in various types of road rage behavior. Frequent road ragers, accounting for 5.3% of the sample, were involved in the most severe forms of road rage behavior and were most likely (24%) to report problem drinking and past year cannabis (23.8%), cocaine (5.4%), and ecstasy (10%) use. These data indicate that illicit drug use and alcohol problems are significantly greater for those involved in the most serious forms of road rage behavior. Further work is needed to identify the mechanisms by which illicit drug use and problem drinking are linked to road rage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Motor vehicle collision risk and driving under the influence of cannabis: evidence from adolescents in Atlantic Canada.

OBJECTIVE: Employing a sample of 6087 senior students in Atlantic Canada, this paper examines the relationship between driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) and motor vehicle collision (MVC) risk. A series of models were analyzed adjusting for demographic characteristics, driver experience, and substance use. METHODS: Participants were drawn from the 2002/2003 Student Drug Use Survey in the Atlantic Provinces, an anonymous cross-sectional survey of adolescent students in the Atlantic provinces of Canada. Logistic regression techniques were employed in the analysis of unadjusted and adjusted models. RESULTS: Among senior students, the prevalence of DUIC in the past year was 15.1% while the prevalence of MVCs was 8.1%. The predictors of DUIC were gender, driver experience, use of a fake ID, and driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA). The predictors of MVC were gender, driver experience, DUIC, and DUIA. CONCLUSIONS: These findings extend our knowledge of DUIC as a socio-legal and public health issue with implications on road safety. Effort must be placed on educating new drivers about cannabis use in the context of driving.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2005

Ethno-specific patterns of adolescent tobacco use and the mediating role of acculturation, peer smoking, and sibling smoking.

AIMS: The objectives of this study are to identify the relationship between ethnic identity and tobacco use, and to examine the mediating effects of peer and sibling smoking and acculturation. DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS: Data were drawn from a cross-sectional survey of 3400 Toronto students, sampled from 30 schools between 1998 and 2000. Primary ethnic identity was based on adolescents' self-identification of their ethnic heritage condensed to 12 groups for analysis. Tobacco use was measured as a dichotomy, predicting non-smoking in the past year. Multivariate logistic regression models were employed to test for baseline differences in non-smoking by ethnic identity. Subsequent models adjusted for controls (age, gender, social class, religious attendance, educational achievement) and introduced mediators. FINDINGS: Results indicated that smoking varied among adolescents of differing ethnic identities. Adolescents of western European, eastern European and southern European ethnicity were considerably less likely to be non-smokers, while Chinese, South Asian and East Indian and West Indian youth were more inclined to be non-smokers. The discrepancies in rates of non-smoking among western European and South Asian and East Indian adolescents were explained by a combination of peer and sibling smoking and acculturation; among southern European and eastern European youth via peer and sibling smoking; and by neither peer and sibling smoking nor acculturation for Chinese and West Indian youth. CONCLUSIONS: This paper demonstrates that disparities in tobacco use among certain ethnic groups can be explained by peer and sibling smoking and acculturation; however, for other ethnic groups, knowledge of the processes that account for differences in tobacco use remains less clear.

Acculturation↗
PubMed2004

Public place restrictions on smoking in Canada: assessing the role of the state, media, science and public health advocacy.

While much is known about the impact of law and public policy, we know considerably less about their antecedents. Theories of policy adoption suggest that a variety of policy inputs help to shape legislative change. This research considers the enactment of municipal smoking bylaws in Canada between 1970 and 1995. The emergence of second-hand smoke (SHS) has been offered as a viable explanation for the increased enactment of local smoking restrictions. A number of indicators confirm the rising public health concern around SHS. Using Health Canada data on municipal smoking bylaw enactment in Canada, this paper employs an event history analysis to trace the role of four indicators of the increased recognition of SHS as a public health concern-scientific research, parliamentary debate, print media, and health advocacy. Findings indicate that the print media and health advocacy play the strongest role in explaining the increase in the adoption of municipal smoking bylaws in Canada. Results lend support to the quantitative study of the policy adoption process and to theories of policy making that consider multiple influences on policy adoption.

Canada↗
PubMed2004

The criminalization of impaired driving in Canada: assessing the deterrent impact of Canada's first per se law.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this article is to assess the effectiveness of Canada's first per se law criminalizing driving with a blood alcohol concentration of over 0.08%, the Breathalyser Law introduced in 1969, in reducing drinking-driver-related fatalities. We also examine the long-term deterrent effect of this law on driver fatality rates. In the analyses we include such potentially confounding influences on drinking-driver fatality rates as the founding of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Canada; the introduction of Ontario's mandatory seatbelt law; per capita alcohol consumption; the unemployment rate; vehicles registered per capita; and precipitation rates. METHOD: Interrupted time series analysis with auto-regressive integrated moving average modeling was applied to the annual number of motor vehicle driver fatalities in Ontario for the period 1962-1996 to examine drinking- and nondrinking-driver fatalities. RESULTS: A significant intervention effect was found for the Breathalyser Law in Ontario, which was associated with an estimated reduction of 18% in the number of fatally injured drinking drivers. No corresponding effect was observed for nondrinking-driver fatalities. Per capita alcohol consumption was positively associated with drinking-driver fatalities; Ontario's mandatory seatbelt law was linked to nondrinking-driver fatalities; and the formation of MADD, Canada, was strongly associated with drinking- and nondrinking-driver fatalities. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide evidence that Canada's per se law had a specific deterrent effect that resulted in a reduction in drinking-driver fatalities. A long-term deterrent effect was also observed, which is in contrast to the early policy literature on impaired driving.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2003

The effects of drinking-driving laws: a test of the differential deterrence hypothesis.

AIMS: Ontario introduced an Administrative Driver's Licence Suspension (ADLS) law in 1996, whereby a person with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit of 80 mg%, or who refused to provide a breath sample, would have his or her driver's licence suspended immediately for a period of 90 days. We test the differential deterrence hypothesis which would predict that social or lighter drinkers would be more affected by the Administrative Driver's License Suspension law than heavier drinkers. DESIGN: Data from the 1996 and 1997 cycles of the Ontario Drug Monitor, a general population survey of Ontario adults (monthly cross-sectional surveys), were employed (response rate 64-67%). Analyses were restricted to drivers who reported at least some drinking during the last year (n = 3827). The total number of drinks consumed during the past 12 months was analysed with analysis of variance. FINDINGS: We found that the mean alcohol consumption of those who reported drinking-driving increased significantly after the ADLS was introduced, whereas the alcohol consumption of those who did not drive after drinking remained the same. CONCLUSIONS: The limits of this study include a lack of comparison data from regions without ADLS, a reliance on self-report measures, possible age restrictions of the findings and the fact that only an inferential test of the differential deterrence hypothesis is permitted by the data. Despite these limitations, these findings are consistent with the prediction that lighter or more moderate drinkers will tend to stop driving after drinking completely, and thus drop out of the drinking-driving population when the ADLS law was introduced, leaving heavier drinkers in this population. It will be important to continue to examine the dynamics of differential deterrence over a longer interval.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Psychiatric distress among road rage victims and perpetrators.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between psychiatric distress and road rage, paying particular attention to the potential link between psychiatric illness and frequent involvement in serious forms of road rage. METHOD: This study reports data on road rage involvement, demographic characteristics, and mental health for a representative sample of 2610 adults in Ontario. The mental health indicator was the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. RESULTS: A cluster analysis revealed 5 distinct groups of people affected by road rage. The most serious offenders (referred to hereafter as the hard core road rage group), representing 5.5% of those affected, exhibited frequent involvement in the most severe forms of road rage and were the most likely (27.5%) to report psychiatric distress. CONCLUSIONS: Road rage, particularly experiences of victimization, is related to psychiatric distress. Evidence of psychiatric distress was highest among hard core road rage perpetrators, individuals noted for frequent involvement in serious aggressive and violent conduct. Further research is needed on violence and road rage and its link to mental health.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The "homogamy" of road rage: understanding the relationship between victimization and offending among aggressive and violent motorists.

The issue of "road rage" has received increasing media and scholarly attention in recent years. Using a representative sample of 2610 adults from Ontario, involvement with road rage was surveyed across demographic subgroups. Incidents of road rage were divided into two categories, verbal-gesturing road rage and physical-threats road rage. Drawing upon violence and criminological literature, experiences of road rage victimization and offending were explored, as well as the extent to which individuals were simultaneously the victims and perpetrators of road rage. Results challenge findings from the violence literature that males and young adults have the greatest propensity for violent victimization. Road rage offending was predominantly a male activity, while there were no gender differences in victimization. Moreover, road rage was not isolated among young adults; rather, road rage was prominent across all ages, with the exception of seniors. Consistent with the existing literature, road rage was higher in urban settings.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Drugs and driving: when science and policy don't mix.

This commentary briefly looks at the Canadian federal government's proposed legislation to strengthen the enforcement of drug-impaired driving, placing special emphasis on cannabis. After outlining the legislation, three issues are examined. Of primary concern is at what level cannabis use impairs driving ability leading to an increased risk of motor vehicle collision. Current epidemiological evidence is reviewed. Equally important is the government's emphasis on the training and implementation of Drug Recognition Experts (DREs), specially trained police officers whose role is to detect drivers under the influence of drugs. Research on the effectiveness of DREs is discussed, along with a dialogue regarding the potential shortcomings of the DRE program. Finally, a brief surveillance of international policy literature on drugs and driving is offered, along with some sober thoughts on the potential difficulties that may emerge in the enforcement of the proposed legislation.

Automobile Driving↗