DUI Risk on College Campuses Calls for More Visible Deterrents
Preventing loss of life among college students from DUI, whether caused by using alcohol or drugs behind the wheel, continues to be a problem experts say many campuses are failing to adequately address.
Studies continue to show that the behaviors that lead to young adults’ decisions to get behind the wheel after drinking or using drugs are complex, but college campuses can create almost a “perfect storm” of these conditions. Frequent parties, access to alcohol for minors, stress to make life decisions about careers and exposure to people with different attitudes toward drugs and alcohol can all contribute to deadly car accidents caused by DUIs.
Many campuses have struggled with ways to effectively deter students from driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, with many focusing on prevention efforts or campaigns. Adding to the challenge is the nature of DUI-related car accidents, which typically happen out of campus boundaries and can be confounded with campus law enforcement, city law enforcement and the actions of campus administrative staff.
The students’ age is also a factor in the likelihood of DUI accidents. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services information, the age group from 21 to 25 is the range in which people are most likely to drink excessively. For students in the 18 to 20-year old bracket, drug use is a higher risk. This means college campuses can be a mixture of people with an especially high risk for abusing drugs or alcohol.
Not surprisingly, data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) says that injury accidents and fatalities linked to driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol on college campuses has increased. Groups like NIAAA believe tougher laws that give stricter punishments to anyone who uses alcohol or drugs behind the wheel, in conjunction with enhanced college-based counseling and detection programs, could help.
Research published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine focusing on ways to deter alcohol abuse at major college campuses in California also addresses a multi-level perspective that involves strong campaign messages against the behavior. In a comparison of deterrent measures at 14 campuses, researchers found that the campuses in which efforts like law enforcement for parties, video surveillance toward sales of alcohol, more checkpoints and the engagement of local media outlets were utilized had fewer cases of students abusing alcohol off-campus. Researchers summarized that the more visible the efforts to deter drunk driving, the greater the effect.
The problem isn’t just affecting those who get behind the wheel, but also their peers even when they are not on roadways. From 1998 to 2001, more than half a million college-aged students experienced injuries related to alcohol consumption, and 600,000 are believed to have experienced an assault due to someone else who had consumed alcohol.
Measures that may help prevent the behaviors – such as free transportation programs after hours, campus sobriety checkpoints and clear and concise DUI law enforcement – can also be effective. From a community perspective, efforts can include campaigns to spread the message about the dangers of the behavior, because the injuries or fatalities linked with DUIs remain a risk for students of college age even if they are not enrolled in an educational institution.
