Reducing Alcohol-Impaired Driving: Multicomponent Interventions with Community Mobilization

Multicomponent interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving can include any or all of a number of components, such as sobriety checkpoints, training in responsible beverage service, education and awareness-raising efforts, and limiting access to alcohol. Interventions that qualified for this review:

1. Implemented multiple programs and/or policies in multiple settings to effect the community environment to reduce alcohol-impaired driving, and
2. Included participation of active community coalitions or task forces in their design or execution (community mobilization)

Summary of Task Force Recommendations & Findings

The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends the use of multicomponent interventions with community mobilization on the basis of strong evidence of their effectiveness in reducing alcohol-impaired driving.

Task Force Finding

Results from the Systematic Reviews

Six studies qualified for the systematic review.

• Fatal crash outcomes: decreased 9% and 42% (2 studies)
• Nighttime injury crashes: decreased 10% (1 study)
• Crashes among drivers aged 16–20: decreased 45% (1 study)
• There was a small decrease in the rate of crashes among drivers under 21 years of age, however, the actual number of crashes was not reported and the percentage change could not be calculated (1 study).
• Evaluation follow-up periods ranged from 2 to 10 years (median 4 years).
• The reviewed interventions addressed a range of alcohol-related concerns including alcohol-impaired driving, excessive drinking, underage drinking, alcohol-related injuries, and increasing access to alcohol treatment.
• Interventions included responsible beverage service programs and other efforts to limit access to alcohol, such as:
  • Regulations controlling alcohol outlet density and enforcement of minimum legal drinking age laws (6 studies)
  • Sobriety checkpoints (5 studies)
  • Awareness or educational campaigns (5 studies)
  • Attention to other driving risks, such as speeding (2 studies)
  • Improved access to alcohol treatment (2 studies)
• Most intervention communities had populations between 50,000–100,000. Two cities had populations greater than 500,000.

These results are based on a systematic review of all available studies led by scientists from CDC’s Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention with input from a team of specialists in systematic review methods and experts in research, practice and policy related to reducing alcohol-impaired driving.

Supporting Materials

• Analytic framework – see Figure 1 on page 362 [PDF - 377KB]
• Summary evidence table – see Table 1 on page 364 [PDF - 377KB]
• Search strategy

Publications

Shults RA, Elder RW, Nichols JL, Sleet DA, Compton R, Chattopadhyay SK, Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Effectiveness of multicomponent programs with community mobilization for reducing alcohol-impaired driving. [PDF - 378KB] Am J Prev Med 2009;37(4):360-71.

More Community Guide publications about the Prevention of Motor Vehicle-Related Injuries

Promotional Materials

Community Guide News

• Multicomponent Interventions with Community Mobilization Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving
  Developed by The Community Guide in collaboration with CDC's Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention

More promotional materials for Community Guide reviews about Reducing Alcohol-Impaired Driving.

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Sample Citation

The content of publications of the Guide to Community Preventive Services is in the public domain. Citation as to source, however, is appreciated. Sample citation:
Guide to Community Preventive Services. Reducing alcohol-impaired driving: multicomponent interventions with community mobilization www.thecommunityguide.org/mvoi/multicomponent.html. Last updated: MM/DD/YYYY.

Review completed: June 2005