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Description
The purpose of this study, through the analysis of the Place of Last Drink survey, was to quantify and compare prevalence rates of DUI-arrest citations from 2013–2016 among African American, Latino, and Non-Latino White men in San Diego to see if a relationship between arrest rates and race/ethnicity existed. Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol has long been a problem in the United States. The first hypothesis of this study was that San Diego census data would be used to show that the proportion of African American and Latino men receiving a DUI arrest citation would be higher compared to Non-Latino White men in the city of San Diego. The second hypothesis was that African American and Latino men would be more likely than Non-Latino White men to receive a DUI-arrest citation with less alcohol in their system and after driving fewer miles on the road. Secondary data from the Place of Last Drink survey had been collected and deidentified. Sociodemographic data and characteristics of the DUI incident were utilized. Data were analyzed for three reasons—the association between the ethnicity of the driver and the prevalence rates of DUI arrest citations distributed within San Diego, the association between the ethnicity of the driver and the blood alcohol concentration of the driver, and the association between the ethnicity of the driver and the total miles that were driven before the arrest. With 14,508 participants analyzed, African Americans were 1.8 times more likely to receive a DUI arrest citation compared to both Latinos and Non-Latino Whites in San Diego. Statistically significant mean differences between Non-Latino White men and African American men and between Non-Latino White men and Latino men in San Diego were found. Participants in either racial/ethnic category did not differ on the self-reported miles driven before being stopped on the road by law enforcement. Researchers should take an analytical approach into every aspect related to alcohol when trying to make the roads a safer place—from poverty and social justice to binge drinking and adolescents’ perceptions of alcohol.
