Prevalence of drink driving in road traffic in Denmark
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55329/wuxs2531Keywords:
alcohol, drink driving, driving under the influence, DUI, prevalence survey, road safetyAbstract
Driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) is among the riskiest traffic behaviours road users can conduct. To combat drink driving, clarifying its prevalence is paramount. The objective of this study is to map DUI prevalence in Denmark and separate DUI prevalence into geography (police districts), time of day and day of the week, gender and road user modes. In April 2018 to December 2019, 116,378 DUI breath test samples were taken in all (12) Danish police districts. The survey was designed to mirror real life traffic prevalence; thus, the screened road user would represent the average road user. For each sample, road user mode, gender, age were recorded, and the road user was screened for breath alcohol concentration (BrAC). In the case of a positive screening outcome, a more specific breath test was conducted. This was followed by a blood sample in case of BrAC>0.25 mg/L (corresponding to BAC>0.5 g/L). All road users subject to the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) limit of 0.5 g/L were included in the study, i.e. drivers of personal vehicles, vans, lorries, buses, motorcycles, tractors and mopeds. DUI prevalence for drivers “on wheels” was compared to DUI prevalence for drivers in personal injury accidents (PIA). Overall DUI prevalence was 0.2% (95% CI: 0.18%–0.23%). DUI prevalence was lowest in the police district Copenhagen (urban area) and highest in police district Bornholm (most rural area). Twice as many male as female drivers were DUI (0.24% (95% CI: 0.21%–0.28%) and 0.12% (95% CI: 0.08%–0.16%), respectively). Middle-aged drivers were the group with the highest DUI prevalence (0.27%). DUI prevalence in personal injury accidents was disproportionately high in the age group 25–44 suggesting higher BACs and/or a higher accident risk. Moped riders had a significantly higher DUI prevalence (3.1%) than any other road user group. Moreover, the share of DUI personal injury accidents including moped riders was disproportionately high (23.0%) compared to their share of traffic (0.6%). This is probably because of a combination of high BACs due to alcohol addiction and a high vulnerability due to unprotection. DUI primarily took place in the early morning. Overall DUI prevalence in Denmark has been declining over the years. The typical DUI road user is a moped rider, middle-aged male, riding early in the morning.
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Author Biographies
Tove Hels, Danish National Police, Denmark
Tove Hels holds a PhD from University of Copenhagen. She works as an associate professor in the Traffic Research Group at Aalborg University. Tove’s research interests include various aspects of road safety—such as driving under the influence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances, vulnerable road users, randomised controlled trials, speed and risk. She is co-founder of the think tank “Trafiksikkerhed” (Road Safety) in Denmark (www.trafiksikkerhed.dk).
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing—original draft.
Lars Klit Reiff, Danish National Police, Denmark
Lars Klit Reiff works as accident investigator at the Danish Police, Central and West Zealand district. Lars' main research interests are in-depth accident investigation, speeding, accidents involving heavy vehicles and driving under the influence of alcohol.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Validation, Visualization, Writing—review & editing.
Harry Lahrmann, Aalborg University, Denmark
Harry Lahrmann graduated from the Technical University of Denmark but has been affiliated with Aalborg University since 1987, first as an assistant professor and then as an associate professor. He is also the founder of the Traffic Research Group. His research areas are transport planning and traffic engineering, with a focus on traffic safety and intelligent transport systems. Over the years, he has authored over 200 scientific conference papers, articles and books within these areas with his colleagues.
CRediT contribution: Writing—review & editing.
Tanja Kidholm Osmann Madsen, Aalborg University, Denmark
Tanja Kidholm Osmann Madsen received her PhD in road safety at Aalborg University (AAU). She is associate professor in the Traffic Research Group and works within the areas of transport planning and transport engineering with a particular focus on road safety. Her current research focuses on the safety of cyclists, underreporting of accidents and alternative data sources, studied through large-scale randomized controlled trials and survey research in collaboration with road authorities and stakeholders.
CRediT contribution: Writing—review & editing.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Tove Hels, Lars Klit Reiff, Harry Lahrmann, Tanja Kidholm Osmann Madsen
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