What deters drink driving? Effects of legal, physical and informal sanctions on drink driving intentions : the mediating role of perceived severity and perceived certainty

Abstract

Drink driving, an action that is linked to serious injury and death remains one of the most common types of road traffic accidents seen around the world. Presently, states imposed legal sanctions to deter individuals from engaging in this act. However, newer research suggested that non-legal sanctions in the form of physical or social loss could also achieve similar deterrent effects. Although past research studied the effects of legal and non-legal sanctions on drink driving behavior, little research has been conducted to explore the reasons behind why these sanctions work. A total of 103 participants were recruited and they were exposed to 12 different sanctions. Repeated measures tests indicated that type of sanctions had a significant main effect on participant’s intention to drink and drive. Paired sample-tests highlighted that perceived severity of physical sanctions was the highest compared to legal and informal sanctions (physical and social loss). No significant differences were found for severity perceptions of legal and informal sanctions. Participants also viewed informal sanctions as most probable to be encountered compared to legal and physical sanctions. No perceived differences in likelihood of encounter for physical and legal sanctions were found. Perceived severity of sanctions partially mediated the relationship between type of sanctions and intentions to drink and drive, while the perceived likelihood of encountering sanctions was not a significant mediator of this relationship. Overall, findings in this study provide insights into why some sanctions could work better than others in deterring drink driving intentions.