Using sobriety tests to increase awareness of alcohol impairment

There is a need to investigate methods by which drinkers canbe made aware of their level of alcohol impairment prior todriving. In the current research, 195 students at various bloodalcohol concentration (BAC) levels participated in an evaluationof three simple sobriety tests: a ruler drop/reaction time task,a balance test and a verbal task. Although self-reported measuresof impairment were the best predictors of BAC, both the rulerdrop and body balance tests accounted for significant portionsof BAC variance. These tasks were also perceived by the studentsas reflecting substantial driving ability. Unfortunately, asBAC increased, poor test performance was less likely to resultin a decision not to drive. These results are discussed in termsof the need to continue studying ways to educate drinkers abouttheir level of alcohol impairment so that they can make informeddrinking/driving decisions.