International Journal of Drug Policy 90 (2021) 103058

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International Journal of Drug Policy

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Research Paper

Driving after alcohol consumption: A qualitative analysis among Chinese

male drunk drivers
Liu Liu a,∗, Wing Hong Chui b, Yali Deng c
a
School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Heren Building, Room 409, 163 Xianlin Avenue, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, China
b
Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
c
School of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: In China, alcohol-related impaired driving has been perceived as a crucial contributor to traffic accidents. How-
Drunk driving ever, the topic of driving after alcohol consumption is still understudied in the country. To fill this void, the aim of
Alcohol consumption this study was to find out male drivers’ unique experiences of drunk driving in China. A qualitative analysis was
Chinese male drunk drivers
adopted based on semi-structured interviews with 38 Chinese male drunk drivers who were serving community
Qualitative study
corrections. The findings of this study revealed that, being regular alcohol consumers, Chinese male drunk drivers
had very little knowledge of the impairment caused by alcohol intake on driving. They mostly underestimated
alcohol’s negative influence on their driving ability and were overconfident that they would have a safe drive
and would not be involved in any traffic accidents after consuming alcohol. In addition, most participants of this
study reported that there was very little possibility that they would be arrested after fully assessing the situation
and implementing strategies to avoid detection by traffic police. All these reasons affected these men’s decision
to drive drunk. Several criminological theories are applied to explain the findings and implications are finally
recommended to reduce the possibility of drunk driving among Chinese men.

Introduction
Along with its globalization and economic development, China has
seen a striking increase in alcohol consumption (Hao, Chen, & Su, 2005;
Li, Xie, Nie & Zhang, 2012). Men have a greater likelihood of using
and abusing alcohol, regardless of time period and cultural background
(Schwartz, 2008; Wu, Mao, Rockett & Yue, 2008). Although drinking
is perceived to be socially acceptable or even beneficial behavior in
Chinese culture, especially among men, society still needs to face neg-
ative health and social consequences related to alcohol consumption
(Cochrane, Chen, Conigrave & Hao, 2003; Hao et al., 2005; Wang et al.,
2015).
Drunk driving has been a notable “social harm” that affects many
people’s lives worldwide since the introduction of automobiles (Fynbo
& Järvinen, 2011). It can bring about property damage and injury or
even death of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians (Adrian, Ferguson &
Her, 2001; Hansen, 2015; Wang et al., 2015). Drunk drivers are found
to be more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents, compared
with drivers who are sober (Yuan, Li & Zhang, 2013). The higher the
drivers’ blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level, the greater the likeli-
hood of their being involved in a road traffic accident (Cismaru, Lavack
& Markewich, 2009). Men are more likely to be involved in drunk driv-
ing than women (Schwartz, 2008; Zhang, Yau & Gong, 2014).
A variety of countermeasures have been implemented globally to
prevent and reduce alcohol-related impaired driving (Stewart, Silcock
& Wegman, 2012). Such countermeasures can be either rehabilitative
ways to reform drunk drivers or punitive ways such as imprisonment
(Järvinen & Fynbo, 2011; Taxman & Piquero, 1998). The Chinese gov-
ernment has revised the criminal law to impose harsher penalties on
drunk driving (Li et al., 2012). Referring to the Law on Road Traffic
Safety of the People’s Republic of China, drunk driving without causing
serious injury or death was not classified as a crime before 2011. After
the Eighth Amendment to the Criminal Law that was issued in 2011 and
enforced in China, drunk driving (BAC level of 0.08 g/100 ml or higher)
has been identified as a criminal behavior regardless of its consequences,
and the punishment includes license suspension, fines, and a maximum
of six months detention. This stricter control has had some positive im-
pact on lowering drunk driving rates (Liu & Dun, 2016; Zhang et al.,
2014). However, drunk driving is still one of the most important con-
tributors to road crashes, and especially road accident-related death in
China (Li et al., 2012; Peng, Zhang, Zhu & Shi, 2019; Wang & Yu, 2019).
The current globally adopted countermeasures to reduce drunk
driving are guided mainly by deterrence theory (Becker, 1968),

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: liuliu@nju.edu.cn (L. Liu), eric.chui@cityu.edu.hk (W.H. Chui), yali.deng@ssw.umaryland.edu (Y. Deng).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.103058

0955-3959/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

L. Liu, W.H. Chui and Y. Deng
which highlights “the certainty, celerity, and severity of punishment”
(Lenton, Fetherston & Cercarelli, 2010, p. 638). Since criminals are as-
sumed to be rational and pursue their own interests by calculating ben-
efits and costs, a swift, precise, and appropriately severe punishment
would increase the cost of criminal behavior and, in turn, reduce crime
(Cullen & Agnew, 2011; Hansen, 2015). Therefore, the countermeasures
against drunk driving would only be effective when drivers believe they
will absolutely be caught and punished (Willis, Lybrand & Bellamy,
2004). However, prior research has found that the likelihood of being
caught by police is believed to be low and, thus, it is not a sufficient
deterrent (Stevenson et al., 2001).
In addition, drunk driving is a very different criminal behavior as it is
related to alcohol consumption, which is a common behavior in Chinese
society. Hansen (2015) argued that the methods used to prevent other
crimes might not be useful to stop drunk driving. Alcohol can reduce an
individual’s reaction speed, as it “has a depressant effect on the brain
and nerve pathways that control muscle actions” (Cismaru et al., 2009,
p. 293) and, thus, increases the likelihood of accidents. A high frequency
of drinking increases the possibility of an individual’s drunk driving be-
havior. Surprisingly, several drunk drivers are fully aware of the effect
of alcohol on one’s driving ability and, thus, it is not recognized as a
deterrent to drunk driving (Stevenson et al., 2001).
Under this condition, individuals’ attitudes toward the possibility
of being caught and their understanding of alcohol consumption and
the related consequences may influence their likelihood of drunk driv-
ing when they have the opportunity of driving after alcohol consump-
tion (Moan, Norström & Storvoll, 2013). Since the existing literature
on alcohol-related impaired driving is mainly quantitative in nature
(Lenton et al., 2010), detailed information on drivers’ experiences of
drunk driving is mostly understudied. Considering the seriousness of
the drunk driving issue and the fact that most drunk drivers in China
are men (Zhang, Chen & Hong, 2014), this study aims to investigate
Chinese men’s drunk driving experiences and how they interpret drunk
driving as a subset of broader alcohol use behavior.
Methods
A qualitative approach was adopted as it was more effective in un-
derstanding the experiences of participants’ drunk driving. Supported
by a local traffic police department, the research team gained access to
drunk drivers in an Eastern Chinese city. The research protocol of this
study was reviewed and supported by the School of Social and Behav-
ioral Sciences at Nanjing University.
Participants
Participants of this study were from the east coast of China. They
were 38 Chinese men who were serving community corrections due to
drunk driving offenses. The Chinese government introduced commu-
nity corrections as a non-custodial penalty in 2003 (Jiang et al., 2014;
Li, 2017). It is implemented “as [an] intermediate sanction targeting of-
fenders whose crimes are minor with minimal social harm” (Li, 2017,
p. 144). Those who are sentenced to community corrections are subject
to travel restrictions and have to report regularly at the community cor-
rections offices. They are also required to attend mandatory correctional
programs that include both educational activities and community ser-
vice. Drunk drivers who did not cause serious injuries or fatalities were
usually sentenced to community corrections.
All participants were interviewed between October 2018 and July
2019. They were referred to the research team by the local traffic police
department based on the maximum variation criteria which aim to in-
clude drunk drivers with diverse personal backgrounds and experiences
(Miles & Huberman, 1994). The traffic police department was willing
to cooperate with the researchers in order to find out the experiences of
drunk driving from the drivers’ perspectives, and improve the methods
of controlling drunk driving and reforming drunk drivers. In addition,
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International Journal of Drug Policy 90 (2021) 103058
participation in this study was also considered as an educational activity
which might be good for the drunk drivers to reflect upon their “misbe-
haviors”.
These 38 men came from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, had
various drinking, driving, and drunk driving experiences, and were
caught on different occasions. Their age ranged between 23 and 57
years, with average age being 38.4 years. Sixteen participants had col-
lege experience, while 11 of them had received nine years of education
or less. The large majority of participants were married (29 of 38) and
had children (30 of 38). Five participants reported that they were daily
drinkers, 16 of them drank twice or more per week, five drank at least
once a month, and the remaining 12 were irregular drinkers. Slightly
less than half (18 of 38) reported having more than ten years of driv-
ing experience. Twenty-one participants were in full-time employment,
ten were self-employed or running their own business, three were com-
mercial vehicle drivers, and only one mentioned that he was totally un-
employed. Thirty-one of them were caught drunk driving at detection
spots, six were arrested at the scene of traffic accidents, and the last one
was reported by a passerby as he parked on the side of the road and fell
asleep in the car. Apart from seven who drove motorcycles, the remain-
ing 31 were all caught driving cars. Only one participant reported that
he had caused minor injury because of drunk driving.
Data collection and analysis
Semi-structured interviews were conducted to solicit the views from
male drunk drivers (Flick, 2002). Several questions related to the experi-
ences of drunk driving, as well as drinking and driving habits were asked
during the interview. However, participants were encouraged to present
their own stories, and were not limited to these pre-established ques-
tions. Mandarin Chinese was used during the face-to-face interviews,
which were audio-recorded and which lasted 60 min on average. The
third author, together with five well-trained research assistants, con-
ducted all the interviews. The first author supervised all interviewers
before and during data collection to ensure the trustworthiness and qual-
ity of the data.
All research participants voluntarily participated. Although they
were referred by traffic police officers, they still gave their consent to
take part in this study and understood that they had the right to not an-
swer any questions they were not comfortable with. All interview data
were kept confidential. Neither the community corrections officers nor
the traffic police officers attended the interviews and had access to in-
terview data.
Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim by the third author
and five research assistants. Following steps of thematic analysis (Braun
& Clarke, 2006), interview transcripts were first read line by line sev-
eral times. With each round of reading, multiple initial codes, including
“drink frequently,” “drink in social interactions,” “drink to increase well-
being,” “not drunk,” “conscious enough to drive,” “have little knowledge
on drunk driving,” “inconvenient to take public transport,” “friends’ in-
fluence and encouragement,” “risk assessment,” and “strategies to re-
duce risks and increase safety”, were generated in line with the aim of
this study. These codes were then sorted out into potential themes and
sub-themes, which were then reviewed, defined, and refined to tell a
clear, systematic, and meaningful story of Chinese men’s experiences
and interpretations of drunk driving and alcohol consumption behavior
in a broader sense (Liu & Chui, 2020). Finally, all participants’ expe-
riences of drunk driving were organized into three main themes. The
themes included: “regular consumption of alcohol,” “choice of driving
after drinking,” and “safety considerations.” Under these themes, and
especially the second one, several sub-themes were identified, named,
and presented to both sum up the commonality and keep the diversity of
experiences and understandings of drunk driving among Chinese men.
L. Liu, W.H. Chui and Y. Deng
Findings
Regular consumption of alcohol
Most participants revealed that they were regular consumers of al-
cohol. Fifteen of them even reported that they thought they “drank very
frequently” (Case 1), generally meaning three times or more per week.
They largely agreed that alcohol consumption was essential and encour-
aged during gatherings with friends. One participant stated: “If there is
no alcohol at a party, I feel that something is missing” (Case 23). Alcohol
was thus valued in social interactions and served as a “social lubricant”
(Case 34) that could “lighten the atmosphere” (Case 10), promote com-
munication, and be “helpful in starting a conversation” (Case 12).
A few participants highlighted that drinking is a crucial component
in Chinese people’s social life and enjoys a long history in Chinese cul-
ture (e.g., Case 5 and Case 6), as proposing a toast during dining is
recognized as a way to express respect and good relationships. It is par-
ticularly important to Chinese men, as they have relatively larger so-
cial networks and more social interactions than women (Liu, Chui &
Chai, 2018). Alcohol has cross-cultural values in facilitating convivial-
ity and sociality in celebrations and social gatherings (Grønkjær, Curtis,
De Crespigny & Delmar, 2011; Lincoln, 2016). However, Chinese alcohol
culture has its specialities. It especially finds expression in encouraging
“social drinking” but not “solitary drinking” (Cochrane et al., 2003, p.
537). Firstly, although alcohol consumption is a common sight in work-
related settings in several countries (Buvik, 2020; Çakar & Kim, 2015;
Nesvåg & Duckert, 2017), drinking is especially preferable during some
business occasions in Chinese culture, “to maintain good relations be-
tween supervisors and employees and to promote camaraderie among
colleagues” (Cochrane et al., 2003, p. 537). For this reason, some par-
ticipants mentioned that: “I have to (drink), as I need to keep a good
relationship with my business partners. Business can be negotiated eas-
ier after drinking” (Case 10).
Secondly, while most cultures only encourage moderate drinking,
in Chinese culture, heavy drinking or even overdrinking has its “posi-
tive values” (Heath, 1995, p. 354), especially for Chinese men. Several
participants’ stories revealed that an individual might leave a good im-
pression on their boss or clients or even “make a business deal” if he
“quaffs a bottle of liquor” during the commercial banquet (Case 28). In
contrast, rejecting a drink or drinking very little might be considered a
kind of offense to the one making the toast. To avoid such a predica-
ment, most participants mentioned that they always tried their best to
drink more on such occasions. For example, one man said:
We both had already drunk two glasses of wine. Then he (the client)
drained a third. I said that I was not able to drink any more. He
seemed angry on hearing that, and I understood the only thing I
could do at that moment was to continue drinking. I vomited all that
I drank. Upon seeing that, he finally gave up (urging me to drink).
(Case 23)
Although drinking only occurred in most participants’ social lives, for
a few it had already become a daily necessity. They usually needed to
consume alcohol every day, otherwise they would “not feel well” (Case
25). They believed that moderate alcohol consumption could increase
their wellbeing by “promoting sleep” (Case 18), “relieving fatigue” (Case
1), and “reducing physical pain” (Case 25). Moreover, one participant
even highlighted that drinking was the only thing that he was interested
in: “I love drinking at home after work, and it’s my only hobby. I feel
relaxed and happy whenever I drink” (Case 1).
Choice of driving after drinking
Participants presented four reasons to explain driving after alcohol
consumption, namely: (1) overconfidence in one’s driving abilities, (2)
lack of accurate and sufficient knowledge about drunk driving, (3) per-
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International Journal of Drug Policy 90 (2021) 103058
ceived “inconvenience” of alternative travelling choices, and (4) peer
influence.
Overconfidence in one’s driving abilities
Many participants agreed that alcohol consumption had negative ef-
fects on driving, as it could “decrease consciousness” (Case 24), “de-
crease reaction time” (Case 11), “blur vision” (Case 25), “reduce one’s
perception of speed” (Case 6), “cause a loss of self-control” (Case 35),
and “destroy body coordination” (Case 38). Although participants were
mostly aware of alcohol’s impairing effects on driving, they mainly
expressed strong confidence in their driving abilities. They generally
believed that “despite these slight differences (between driving when
drunk or sober), it’s still no problem to drive” (Case 24).
Although they were all caught and identified as “drunk drivers”, they
mostly emphasized that they were “not drunk” and “conscious enough
to drive” (Case 2). Only one participant admitted that he was “really
drunk” when he was arrested (Case 38). Moreover, to prove their ability
to drive after drinking, most participants preferred to highlight that they
“had superb driving skills” (e.g., Case 12, 14, and 28), “could drink like
a fish” (e.g., Case 8, 11, and 18), or “just drank a little” (e.g., Case 7
and 10). One typical example came from a man who self-identified as
an amateur racer:
I have been driving for almost 20 years and never caused an accident.
I’m an amateur racer, and normal driving is just a piece of cake for
me. I think I can easily manage it even after drinking. (Case 10)
Another participant emphasized that he had excellent alcohol toler-
ance and self-control, which could distinguish him from other “ordinary
people”. Thus he was absolutely “confident” with his driving ability af-
ter some “moderate drinking”:
I am a very heavy drinker. After drinking two bottles of beer, I still
can drive just like I am sober. There would be nothing wrong with
me. You know, people’s alcohol tolerance and self-control vary con-
siderably. (Case 11)
Lack of accurate and sufficient knowledge about drunk driving
Knowledge about drunk driving greatly influences drivers’ choices.
Two types of knowledge lacking were mentioned in the participants’
stories that related to their drunk driving behavior. Firstly, participants
generally had no knowledge on BAC and incorrectly believed that al-
cohol’s negative influence on driving abilities could disappear quickly.
According to their understanding, driving should be safe shortly after
drinking; as one of them said:
I thought I was fully recovered (from being drunk). I drank at noon-
time, and I drove in the evening. A whole afternoon had passed! I
believed that I was sober, and it should be fine to drive. (Case 34)
Another two participants even mentioned that they still could not
believe they were caught drunk driving, as they “drove on the following
morning” after drinking at dinner time (Case 4).
Secondly, some participants also had insufficient knowledge of law
enforcement related to drunk driving. Although all interviewees were
aware that drunk driving was illegal, they hardly had any knowledge
on their liabilities. For example, seven participants who were caught
driving motorcycles had no idea that driving motorcycles after drinking
was illegal. One said:
I know that driving a car (after drinking) is illegal, but I didn’t know
driving motorcycle is the same! Never thought about it! I was actu-
ally shocked when the traffic police stopped me. (Case 31)
Moreover, some participants also admitted that they underestimated
the consequences brought about by their behavior. One shared his opin-
ion that he thought that only “driving into people” would cause him
trouble:
L. Liu, W.H. Chui and Y. Deng
I thought I would only be in trouble if I hit someone. I might need
to take him/her to hospital and pay compensation. Otherwise I did
not think it (drunk driving) would be a big thing. I never imagined
that I would end up like this (community correction). I even didn’t
realize that my license would be suspended. (Case 35)
Perceived “inconvenience” of alternative travelling choices
It was unexpected that quite a few participants stated that, the al-
ternative travelling choices was “inconvenient for them”, and that was
the major reason they chose to drive after consuming alcohol. Fourteen
participants pointed out that they had thought or even tried to use des-
ignated driving services on the day they were caught. However, they
finally gave up or failed to get a service for various reasons, which in-
cluded: “I waited for the designated driver for an hour, and I couldn’t
wait any longer” (Case 9); “I called (the designated driving service cen-
ter) but no one wanted my business” (Case 24); “The driver was not
skillful and I got carsick, I just couldn’t bear that” (Case 2); “Since the
distance was short, it was not cost-effective to call a service” (Case 28).
Some other participants also complained about the “troublesome-
ness” (Case 16) of taking a taxi, bus, or other form of public transport.
One of them shared his opinion:
I was parking on the side of a road that only allows night parking. I
was really thinking of taking a taxi home. But it was inconvenient as
I would have had to go back to pick up my car the following morning
before 7:00 a.m., otherwise I might get a ticket and have no car to
drive to work. (Case 18)
Peer influence
In addition, many participants reported that they had friends who
were also drunk drivers, and five of them highlighted the influence of
these friends or even the “encouragement” of drunk driving in their
social networks. For example, in one interviewee’s description, drunk
driving was a “common” behavior for him and his friends:
It (drunk driving) is too common amongst us! My friends have all
done this many times. I am the same. It seems a kind of custom in
my circle of friends. I think I wouldn’t have any problems if I (drive
after I) drink half a liter of liquor or more, and neither would my
friends. (Case 28)
Because “most friends had drunk driving experiences” (Case 17) or
even “all friends were drunk drivers” (Case 14), drunk driving was not
perceived to be an inappropriate behavior. On the contrary, since drunk
driving was tacitly acceptable, the refusal of driving after drinking was
instead seen as an “unconventional” decision. One participant shared
his opinion: “Everyone is fine (to drive after drinking), and I won’t be
different” (Case 24). Therefore, even if they were really drunk, they
would still choose to drive on their own.
Safety considerations
Most participants were concerned about finding ways to “increase
safety” when they drive after alcohol consumption. These “safety con-
siderations” were to avoid possible traffic accidents and, more impor-
tantly, detection by traffic police. Even those who “enjoyed the risk”
were willing to figure out ways to avoid being caught by the police.
In fact, the vast majority of participants mentioned that they had
done a risk assessment on driving safety to avoid accidents. Some of
them mentioned that they would employ certain strategies to make driv-
ing as safe as possible. For example, they might choose to “take a rest
after drinking” (Case 32) instead of driving immediately after alcohol
consumption because, as aforementioned, they believed alcohol could
be metabolized quickly. “Drinking tea to sober up” (Case 22) was an-
other way to increase safety. In addition, a few men emphasized that
they would “remind themselves to drive carefully” (Case 11) if they
were drunk:
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International Journal of Drug Policy 90 (2021) 103058
I always told myself to drive home carefully (after drinking), to drive
slowly and stay alert. I don’t care about it being time-consuming.
Safety is important. As long as I arrived home safely, I felt that I
dodged a bullet that day. (Case 18)
Some environmental factors also affected their decision to drive after
alcohol consumption. “Driving after midnight” (Case 33), “good traffic
conditions” (Case 15), and “short distance” (e.g., Cases 9, 13, and 27)
were commonly mentioned as factors that increased the likelihood of
drunk driving. “Driving at 2:00 a.m. is much safer as there is less traffic”
(Case 12), one participant said. “I don’t think I will have any accidents
or be caught by police in such a short distance” (Case 25), another one
added. These individuals mostly believed that they would neither have
a traffic accident nor be caught if only driving a very short distance and,
especially after midnight.
To reduce the possibility of being caught, some individuals even
chose to wait until late at night instead of driving directly after dinner if
they had consumed alcohol. One participant described his experience:
I waited until 1:40 a.m. as I thought traffic police were off duty.
Actually I didn’t think I’d encounter any traffic problems on the way
home. The only thing that I considered was to avoid being caught by
the traffic police. (Case 3)
Interestingly, a participant mentioned his special “skills” in avoiding
detection by traffic police:
One should not drive to unfamiliar places! Why? I have to pay atten-
tion as I drink alcohol. I am quite familiar with the road conditions
around my home. I know where the traffic police’s detection spot is,
and it’s easy for me to avoid. (Case 7)
In fact, around half (18 of 38) the participants indicated that they
were repeated drunk drivers and were “never caught” for many years
(Case 29). About one third (13 of 38) stated outright that they had “wish-
ful thinking” (e.g., Cases 6, 17, and 26) that nothing would happen if
they drove late at night, over a short distance, or under good traffic
conditions; just like one of them said, “I thought I would not be so un-
fortunate to experience accidents or be caught by traffic police” (Case
37).
Discussion
The findings of this study confirmed that the awareness of alcohol’s
negative effects on driving ability as well as the current likelihood of be-
ing caught by police due to drunk driving both failed to be sufficient de-
terrents for drunk driving (Stevenson et al., 2001). Similar to but much
broader than deterrence theory, the rational choice theory also inter-
prets crimes by pointing out that individuals commit crimes based on
their rational calculation of benefits and costs (Cornish & Clarke, 1986).
These male drivers saw no or very little cost of driving after alcohol con-
sumption, since they generally underestimated alcohol’s negative im-
pact on driving abilities and perceived low possibilities of being caught.
They mostly were overconfident that they would have a “safe” drive af-
ter consuming alcohol, especially with full assessment of the situation
and implementation of strategies to avoid detection by traffic police.
Such “wishful thinking” was consistent with previous research findings
as one of the reasons for drunk driving among the Chinese (Peng et al.,
2019). Moreover, from the drivers’ perspective, there was no doubt that
driving themselves was more convenient than calling a designated driv-
ing service or using public transport. These both made it possible for
the participants to underestimate the cost and overestimate the benefit
of drunk driving and thus increased the possibility of actually doing so.
Therefore, drunk driving is still a typical behavior in China, even though
it has been legislated as illegal.
Criminological theories other than deterrence theory and rational
choice theory could also be beneficial in explaining the findings from
both environmental and individual levels. The social environment is ar-
L. Liu, W.H. Chui and Y. Deng
gued to be vital in fostering individuals’ beliefs to violate laws and also
the consequent criminal behavior (Agnew, 1994). According to social
learning theories, people may learn behavior patterns through social
interactions (Reed et al., 2010). Individuals engage in crime as they
learn or imitate criminal behavior that is reinforced by people around
them, and criminal behavior is seen in certain social networks as “de-
sirable, justifiable, or excusable” (Cullen & Agnew, 2011, p. 119). For
most of the participants, drinking was recognized as an indispensable
behavior in their social lives. At the same time, they were mainly sur-
rounded by “friends” who were also drunk drivers or part of a social
network that encouraged drunk driving. In such a network, drunk driv-
ing’s negative consequences were largely ignored and its “convenience”
washighlighted. Therefore, it was foreseeable for drunk driving “with-
out things happening” to be an accepted and even encouraged behavior.
Drunk driving was generally regarded by the participants as desirable or
at least justifiable and excusable, but not a deviant event that happens
after “social drinking”.
Most participants accepted and did not deny the conventional belief
about the illegality of drunk driving. However, instead of compliance
with the law, what they chose to do was to find different explanations
for their decision to drive when drunk, develop strategies to avoid detec-
tion by traffic police, and attempt to increase the safety of drunk driving.
The neutralization theory is a powerful tool in finding out individuals’
explanations of the choice to violate a law they believe to be correct.
Sykes and Matza (1957) argued that people behaved in a deviant man-
ner because they rationalized their behaviors in some way or other to
highlight that “violations are acceptable if not right” (p. 667). Chinese
male drunk drivers mainly adopted one or more techniques of neutral-
ization to justify their drunk driving behavior. For example, because of
their overconfidence in their driving abilities after drinking, they did
not believe any accidents would be caused by their drunk driving (i.e.,
the denial of injury). Some individuals also denied responsibility as they
framed their drunk driving behavior on the lack of accurate and suffi-
cient knowledge. Moreover, consistent with the findings of a previous
study that was conducted in Denmark (Fynbo & Järvinen, 2011), the em-
phasis on the influence of friends and social networks could be seen as
a kind of “appeal to higher loyalties”, since the participants normalized
their drunk driving behavior in the high-risk social networks of drunk
driving which they belonged to.
Implications
Based on the findings and theoretical discussions, implications are
hereby made to reduce the likelihood of drunk driving among Chinese
men. The first implication comes from the “crime control policy” that
focuses on a “get tough” approach (Cullen & Agnew, 2011, p. 616).
Deterrence and rational choice theory implies that a severe, prompt,
and definite punishment can make the crime’s cost higher, thus reduc-
ing the possibility of lawbreaking. Most participants believed that there
was a small probability of being caught and about half of them were
repeat drunk drivers. This fact showed that the current control in the
country, which is stricter than before, still did not fully arouse indi-
viduals’ attention that drunk driving could lead to severe punishment.
Such low perceived “cost” thus increases the possibility of individuals
engaging in criminal behavior, i.e., drunk driving. Therefore, more effec-
tive sanctioning and enhanced law enforcement is highly recommended
(Cismaru et al., 2009). Particularly, strategies should be implemented
to increase the certainty of being caught and receiving appropriately
severe punishment, if individuals drive after alcohol consumption.
Considering that most participants lack accurate and sufficient
knowledge of drunk driving, more campaigns about the effect of alcohol
on one’s driving ability are highly recommended. Moreover, popular-
ization of related legal knowledge is also useful to avoid the mispercep-
tion of the legal details and consequences of drunk driving, since laws
can only prevent drunk driving when they are clearly known (Kenkel &
Koch, 2001). Although individuals are supposed to be rational decision-
5
International Journal of Drug Policy 90 (2021) 103058
makers when deciding to commit crimes, they are actually not com-
pletely rational as they only make choices based on limited information
and knowledge. In such a situation, increasing drunk driving-related
knowledge can help people to weigh the costs and benefits better, and
lead them to a more “rational” decision of not driving when drunk.
In practice, educational programs can be offered in four ways. First,
they can reach the general public through the mass media and com-
munity activities. Second, it is also suggested that they are delivered
at an earlier stage in life. School-based education programs have been
found to be useful in reducing young people’s drunk driving behaviors
(Sheehan et al., 1996). Third, they should be provided particularly in
restaurants and pubs. Since regular alcohol consumption in China is
found to be mostly for social reasons, the “frequent drinkers” could have
more chance to obtain knowledge on drunk driving in the places where
alcohol is consumed in large quantities. Fourth, they should also be
added as additional compulsory educational activities for drunk drivers
who are serving their sentences in prison or through community correc-
tions.
Moreover, helping people within the high-risk social networks of
drunk driving should be a target for intervention programs. Due to com-
plex social and cultural issues related to drunk driving, these Chinese
men generally believe that it fits into their “normal” drinking and driv-
ing experiences. Therefore, social context needs to be taken into ac-
count when solving the problem of drunk driving. In particular, those
who have been caught drunk driving by traffic police can work as peer
educators and use their own experiences to inform their friends that
drunk driving could have serious consequences. Promoting designated
driving services is also recommended among those within high-risk so-
cial networks of drunk driving, as availability of alternative transport
is regarded as an important factor to decrease the possibility of drunk
driving (Morrison, Begg & Langley, 2002).
Since alcohol consumption is the direct cause of drunk driving, it
is further suggested that limiting alcohol consumption can help curb
the issue (Cismaru et al., 2009). For example, advertising of alcohol
beverages can be controlled, and the price of or tax on alcohol can be
increased (Levitt & Porter, 2001) to reduce the level of alcohol consump-
tion. In addition, enterprises also need to launch programs to educate
their employees on a drinking etiquette that discourages forced drinking
at business dinners.
Limitation and future directions
The major limitation of this study is the possibility of sample selec-
tion bias since all participants were referred by the traffic police depart-
ment. Although different backgrounds and experiences were requested
in the selection of participants, the exact selection process remained un-
clear. It is possible that those who left a good impression on the traffic
police officers or behaved well in the community correction programs
might have had a greater chance of being referred. Future research can
be based on a larger sample instead of relying on traffic police or cor-
rections officers’ recommendations. Moreover, those who have drunk
driving experiences but were not arrested should also be investigated.
Conclusion
Based on the selected small group of participants, this study has
revealed the experiences and views of drunk driving from the drunk
drivers’ perspective. Alcohol-related impaired driving has become one of
the most serious road safety problems (Morrison et al., 2002); however,
the current methods of control in China still cannot deter drunk driv-
ing completely. Therefore, the findings of this study contribute to the
existing literature not only by analyzing and understanding the unique
experiences of Chinese male drunk drivers but also by pointing out that
more strategies have to be adopted in the country to curb drunk driving.
L. Liu, W.H. Chui and Y. Deng
Funding
This study was funded by The National Social Science Fund of the
People’s Republic of China (19BSH029).
Declaration of Competing Interest
None
Acknowledgement
Thanks to Ms Xuemeng Li from the City University of New York for
consulting during the preparation of the article. Also thanks to the local
traffic police department which supported this study during the data
collection period.
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